Subjects
by CagedRaven
Summary: Having runaway from a lab where they were born, Naruto, along with newly acquired friends, make it to a village where they try hard to blend in with the crowd of humans while finding out more about themselves...
1. Chapter 1

**Subjects**

_CagedRaven_

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Naruto in anyway.

_This is an AU story and based only on fiction, as well as my imagination._

_Mini summary: _Having runaway from a lab where they were born, Naruto, along with newly acquired friends, make it to a village where they try hard to blend in with the crowd of humans while finding out more about themselves like why they exists, what's their purpose and how to rescue the others from an evil foe, humans. (hinted Naruto/Hinata in later chapters but thats not the case.)

* * *

Chapter one

I moved down the line like I did everyday. Right in the middle of the vast number of the army we made up. I stood behind a friend, a stranger behind me and a completely new face behind them. As we walked into the court yard, lined up like good little boys and girls, one thought I couldn't control anymore raced through my brain and fueled my blood with hatred and the need to kill.

These fucking humans…

I gritted my teeth together, bit really hard on tongue to the point red fluid pooled in my mouth and found a way pass my lips. My friend, as well as the others around me, could smell it; feel the anger come off of me in waves.

"Relax, Naruto." He reassured me, in a hushed voice "We'll get out of this soon."

I heard him. I heard him repeat this everyday; day after _fucking_ day he told me we would escape. I had enough. Today, I would kill all of the humans in my blood-coated path out of here.

* * *

My friend was in a deep sleep, this made it easier for me to sneak out without him following me. I said a quick apology to him, knowing how much he would have tried to stop me or even come along to help. This was not something I wanted him to see me do, this was something I didn't want anyone to see me do, more so since I promised to never use the power those humans gave us. But I know see the best way to destroy them is with their own creation… these hands of mine.

"I'm sorry Kiba."

I walked over to the door, certain it was bolted shut. The humans wouldn't have trusted us that much. But did they truly believe this pathetic steel door could hold me in? Or did they forget us Class 01's grew stronger everyday?

I could see how easy it would be for my foot to cave the door in but also my friend would surely awaken from the noise. So I wedged my fingers into the side and pulled it open. An easy job. Something the humans had made me to say with every obstacle in front of me. I was completely perfect, something they were not. And now, I thought as I stepped into the hallway, letting the door slide closed with my finger indents visible in the frame, death to all my creators_._

* * *

There were guards walking around, of course there would be. I wouldn't give them any chance to run for their lives. I wouldn't let them reach for their weapons. I wouldn't let them call for help. I wouldn't give them enough time to think anything but "I'm going to die." Why should I let them go; why should I spare them,they were only working? They never once treated us like we were living things. Instead they saw us as monsters. I couldn't help but laugh at my own comment; we _are _monsters.

I heard footsteps approaching my location… about two sets of feet if I made it out right. I stopped my laughter; pretty sure that's what made them come this way so suddenly. I raised my hands; my claws growing inches longer and ready to slice open the first chest cavity within my sights. As their feet lead them closer and closer to their graves their scents entered my nose, and just as fate would have it, they were my two most hated men in uniform. I couldn't stop the crazed looked that overtook my features.

The religious bastards that wished us to rot in _their_ hell, with _their_ devil. It didn't matter where they wanted us to go as long as it was always under _their _control.

They stopped in shock as they rounded the corner, faces mere centimeters away from my own.

"May _your_ god have no mercy on you." I said, plunging my razor sharp fingers into them, puncturing lungs and pulled out their hearts simultaneously. What an easy job death could be.

The scent of blood filled the air as well as death. The color crimson coated my fingers and held my blue eyes captive like a dancing flame. It was my first time killing anything and something awakened deep inside of me. I didn't just want to see their demise, I wanted them to run, the scent of fear for their very lives trailing behind them. Their screams bouncing off these cold, metal walls and mixing with my laughter.

This strange new feeling washing over me must have been why the science department declared me a mistake on the day of my birth. Something about the human DNA being too little, was that what he said? I can't remember right now… my brain feels strange. My stomach feels empty. The sound of quickly approaching feet is… mouthwatering.

My eyes burned but I ignored the sensation, watching and waiting for the people to walk into my path. I felt like I was losing my mind…

* * *

I opened my eyes, quickly shutting them away from the light and covered my lids with a hand. I could smell dried blood on my hand as well as my breath. Maybe it had something to do with this 'sick to my stomach' feeling. I could feel my stomach preparing itself to throw out something nasty, the taste lingering in the back of my throat.

"Ah, you're up." Came a slow, bored voice. I jumped up, instantly regretting it, and looked in its direction. It was another male, scrawny but then again I wasn't any bigger in muscle mass. He was taller then me too – or as Kiba would feel the need to say, who wasn't? I wonder why I didn't smell him…

My eyes stayed on his brown ones, unsure of who he was and what he wanted with me. He seemed to be doing the same thing.

"You're a Class 01, aren't you?" he asked suddenly, as if breaking the ice. But the way he questioned me made it feel like he already knew the answer. It wouldn't be hard to find out, seeing as all the 'Classes' had their number burned into the skin on the nape of their necks like cattle on a farm.

"What of it?" I throw back, swallowing down the bile that tried to enter my mouth.

"I'm a Class 02," he turned around, showing me the number as proof. That's when I realized why I couldn't smell his scent. Kiba had told me 02's were made to be undercover and make it out alive. Not having a scent to trail behind was an ideal trait to have. "Saved your dumb ass from execution last night." He finished.

I didn't know whether to be relieved he was another number or pissed that he just called me a dumb ass. Seeing as my stomach still felt like it would blow in any minute I decided not to walk over to him and punch him as hard as I could. Instead I asked from my seat on the floor, "What do you mean?"

The 02 raised a brow and came closer to me, "You don't remember?"

I thought hard for a moment, "I remember sneaking out and killing two guards." I smiled, I wouldn't forget that. "And," I looked at my right hand, the blood so dry it was making my skin itch. "And the blood… after that my brain feels all fuzzed over. Like the memories were deleted, because all I come to is waking up here. Why? What am I forgeting?"

The 02 looked unsure, choosing to brush the topic off. "It's nothing."

I shrugged it off as well, if it was important I would remember it sooner or later. Though I wondered how he found me. Class 02's are in a different section then Class 01. We never really see each other unless were in the battlefield seeing as they are the brains and were the manpower. Because of that the 02 class has only a few members; in fact this is the first time I've met one.

"What's your name?" I asked, "I'm tired of defining you as your class number."

"Shikamaru, you?" he answered in the same bored tone.

"Naruto."

* * *

After learning that the head of security and our creators were on the look out for the escapee, a.k.a. me, I wondered where I was and why they hadn't found me. Turns out I was under Shikamaru's room. The engineered genius had, I quote, _"sleepless nights and had time to kill"_. He also found out we were underground – either that or his room was on the first floor and that's why he found dirt under the many layers of cement.

The light bulbs hanging from the ceiling were connected to the building's electrical supply wires and, as I found out after my stomach won and upchucked my last meal; there was even a working bathroom.

"You're a genius Shikamaru…" I praised him in awe.

He sighed, "That's what I was made to be, moron."

I didn't hear his comment; my brain was busy working something new out. I'm sure my new acquaintance could hear the gears moving in my head as I tried to form this idea. I wasn't really one for thinking, choosing to rely on actions more, but once an idea popped into my head I was unstoppable – or so I liked to think, no one's every tried to stop me yet.

"Shikamaru, I'm going to turn myself in." I stated, walking to the ladder that lead to the exit. The 02 stopped me quickly, surprising me with his speed.

"Why, they'll just kill you once they get their hands on you. Believe me; I've seen 01 class members crack once or twice before."

I frowned, "I didn't crack! But being dead must be better than living day in and day out in this shit hole! I've had enough of this damn place!"

Shikamaru nodded, "We all have but its worst outside of these metal walls."

My anger quickly deflated, did I hear him right? "Have you been out?"

He seemed to wish he'd never said anything to begin with.

"Tell me." I begged. Surely someone as smart as Shikamaru must have found a way.

"Yes, I did. I came back almost right after though."

"Why?" I wanted to punch him for being for so stupid.

"Because, after being out there I realized something important: humans are everywhere." I was in shock. I had thought this was the only place those nasty things would be, after all they loved it so much. "There is a village not too far from here – a night's run." A shiver ran up Shikamaru's body at the memory. "There not just in that village, there covering this world like germs. Everyday, new ones are popping up and less then half that are leaving."

I felt bile coming up my throat again swallowed it back down. "Why are there so many…? It would take forever to find a place where we could be alone."

"We would never be able to escape them. They would have found me eventually so I came back before they even knew I was gone." His brown eyes looked into mine, a question in them that was already half answered. "And who's the 'we'?"

A weak smile played at my lips, "That's why I was going to turn myself in. I have to go see Kiba and my other friends… get them out of here too."

"Wait, you still want to leave?"

"Sure do." I nodded, placing my first foot on the ladder after breaking his hold. "I'd rather be out there for two seconds then in here for the rest of my life."

The 02 sighed again, rubbing the back of his head. "Fine, do whatever you want. I can't see this ending in anything more than your own destruction."

I laughed, "That's because you don't know me too well yet."

* * *

"We found him!"

They had roughly tied my hands up with chains, shackled my feet together and then just for the hell of it, gagged me. Maybe because the first man got too close and I bit off his finger. A familiar and yet new feeling making me excited by his screams in agony and the taste of blood in my mouth.

"Sir," They pushed me into the head creator's office. The man was sitting with his back to us so I couldn't see his face but I knew it well. His pale skin was burned into my memory the day he branded the number on me. His golden eyes laughed at us Classes whenever he spoke to us, and his dry voice treated us like infants. I was here to show him, by my actions of the previous night, you can't have an army of monsters and call them children.

"Where was he hiding all of this time?" He asked, not a caring bone in his body.

"I wasn't hiding." I answered for myself, cutting off the guard next to me. They were surprised I had bit through the cloth.

"…Must be a 01 class member, huh? Something always stops working in their brains. How old are you?"

Like I would know. My thinking process was telling me sixteen but my birth wasn't that long ago. I shrugged, "I thought you had all the answers."

"You're three years, going on four in a few months, 01."

"Really?" I looked at myself in the mirror to my right. "I look more like sixteen, in my own opinion."

The chair turned around swiftly and he stood, throwing a folder with my name on it onto his desk. "Have him disposed of by the end of the day." He finished, waving his hand at me like I was a piece of trash. I couldn't help but let a growl out, showing my pearly white fangs as I cursed him and everyone else to death. These fucking humans made us what we are today and I won't forgive them.

He must have seen something in my look, something in the way my first thought was to lunge for his throat, because a full grin spread across his face in utter amusement.

* * *

TBC...

* * *

**_AN:_** That's the first chapter for my new story. I haven't written in a long time, not having enough time to actually get _anything _done and fighting my serious battle of writers block. I hope you enjoy this new story and I hope to update soon.

Please review to let me know what you think, as usual :)

CagedRaven


	2. Chapter 2

**Subjects**

_CagedRaven_

Chapter two

On death row; Shikamaru was right… Maybe I didn't think this out right. Oh, well. At least I'll be free one way or the other. As the guards settled me in a chair, locking my hands and feet into the restraints and all that, they left without a single word. I tested the chains to see how strong they were; seems like they learned their lesson about the door. The room was dark, and by the smell of it I wasn't the only one in here.

"Hey," I said nonchalantly, pretty sure the guy wouldn't answer me back. "So, what they get you for?"

As I expected the room stayed silent. That is, semi. A whispered voice spoke too low for my ears to pick up. That was saying something. "Huh?"

What made it stranger was that I only smelt one and that was a male but the voice I was having trouble hearing was defiantly female. Then it clicked, Class 02.

"I am… not strong enough to… to lead a team." She stuttered shamefully.

I didn't know what to say, by the way she was talking then yeah, I agreed. But I couldn't do that to her, she was a female, so I lied. Not like it was going to kill me anyway. The drugs were. "That can't be true. I bet you came out too pretty or something."

Hey, if it made her last day to live – because I am assuming we're all dieing today- any better then by all means I was going to tell this girl anything.

"I'm not …_pretty_ at all." She whispered into the darkness.

"Liar," I smiled, happy I had someone to talk to. "They got me on killing a couple humans."

I heard her gasp like it was the end of the world. "How could you?"

"How could I?" my happiness quickly left. "Why shouldn't I, is what you should be asking me. Those damn humans, always treating us like fucking shit - monsters! But they're the monsters! You hear that?" I yelled in the direction of the door hoping they could hear me. "I didn't ask to be here, you made me, mother-fuckers!"

My breathing was labored after all that screaming, I wish it wasn't. I could taste the blood still in my mouth from before but it was mixing horribly with some more bile. I spat it out, judging from her voice and the male's scent across from me; it was no where near them.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered out to me, causing me to sigh.

"It's not your fault, I shouldn't be - I'm sorry." I apologized lamely. "What's you name?" I asked, just to keep the conversation rolling.

"Hinata," she answered after a pause.

"I'm Naruto."

---

Sitting in the darkness for what felt like hours, Hinata and my conversation eventually did stop. The male in the room with us wasn't much help either. More then once he told us to shut up, causing her to stop talking and me to yell at him each and every time.

The silence in the dark room caused my ears to ring. After a while I didn't know if my eyes were closed or open. I felt like I really had to pee and my back was starting to hurt from sitting in this chair too long. My boredom lead me too humming, which was quickly silenced by the other class 01 male who seemed to just be waiting for me to say something. I had stopped fighting with him, my energy more focused on not emptying my bladder.

With the endless time remaining I starting to actually wonder about yesterday night. I remembered killing those two bastards, hearing another pair of footsteps… and after that, I was with Shikamaru. Something else must have happened, I just couldn't think of what it could be.

As my brain jumped from topic to topic everything always boiled down to my revulsion for humans. I think I even cursed them aloud a few times because Hinata gasped and the male growled in annoyance at the sound of my voice. I had to take my mind off everything dealing with them, as Kiba had told me before: it wasn't healthy to be angry all the time. But, hell, if they weren't so damn bossy and shit I wouldn't have killed them. If I hadn't killed them I wouldn't be in this situation right now. And if I wasn't tied up I could have gone to the bathroom already! My insides felt like it was at its limit.

I tried to move around in the chair but it was hopeless, looks like the last of my life was going to play out in embarrassment…

"Naruto… what's wrong?"

She must have heard me, "It's nothing…" I couldn't very well tell her I just might have to pee my pants. Though, I guess if I did they would both smell it anyway.

"The idiot has to urinate." The other male muttered.

"Whoa, you talked." I claimed loudly, sarcasm dipping heavily off my words.

"The great part about it all is," he began as noise from behind the door started. "That I hear once you're dead your body releases everything, so you won't have to hold yourself too much longer."

I snapped my eyes shut (answering my question earlier) at the light that pooled into the room. "Well, thanks." I muttered under my breath.

I heard footsteps walking in after the door closed once more. I found that odd. Why would the guards close themselves in with us? For that matter, why had only one entered?

"Shikamaru, is that you?" Hinata whispered, as if she feared she might be wrong.

A small light pointed to each of us, "Man, I didn't know three would be in here…" Came his lazy tone.

"Shikamaru!" I would have leapt for joy had my arms and legs not been locked. He hushed me down but I didn't care. "Thank the humans' god! Look, let me out, I've got to pee _so_ bad."

"Are you kidding me?" He sighed, already working on the locks. "You're going to have to hold it."

"I've been holding it!"

At the final 'click' of my restrains, my freedom to walk was welcomed. My freedom to run to the nearest bathroom, however, was halted.

"I'm serious, Naruto, I snuck in here. If you blow our cover, we'll all be six feet under faster than it takes you to think of something stupid to say." Shikamaru snapped, having caught me in the act of running toward the door. I nodded, deciding to ignore his comment.

As Hinata was freed Shikamaru made his way over towards the male. Hinata, in her shy way, watched me as I jumped around stupidly.

"Gaara?" I stopped moving, looking over toward the two males. "Can't say I'm surprised to see you here…" The 02 male said. The other 01, _Gaara_, merely stayed silent. So I guess I wasn't the only one to notice he was a whack job.

"You two know each other?" I asked.

"Not now, we have to get out of here." Shikamaru stated, pointing his flashlight towards the ceiling. My eyes followed the only light source, looking for anything. However, there didn't seem to be anything we could use to escape with.

"Um," Hinata started. My head looked over to her in the darkness; I think she was near the door. "I think we should go through the corridors… until we reach a safer place."

"They'll see us in the hallways." Gaara bluntly said in his cold voice.

"But," Shikamaru cut her sentence off.

"No, she's right. That's the only way out of this room. That's why they keep you in the dark; it's both physical and mental. Without your eyes to see what's around you, you can't start thinking of a way out."

"Fine," I said, happy that we finally came to a decision. I let my claws sharpen stretched out my arms and legs, readying myself for a fight. "I'll go out first, kill any human that's there and when I knock on the door you'll know it's safe to come out."

"Wait," Hinata grabbed my arm before I could open the door. "You're not really going to kill them, are you?"

"Of course, a few less to chase after us later."

"You mustn't, Shikamaru, please…" she sounded like she was going to cry again… seriously, what was the matter with her?

"Fine, fine! I'll just rough them up a bit." I muttered, cursing under my breath as I stepped out of the dark room. My eyes were blinded immediately by the bright florescent lights but my ears heard the men surrounding me.

"How'd he get out?" someone yelled. "Didn't you put the restraints on properly?"

I let out a laugh, stopping their petty argument. "You thought those things could stop me?" I was starting to be able to see slowly, however in all honesty I didn't need my eye sight to hurt these buffoons. "This is going to be fun." I grinned.

---

I knocked on the door a couple seconds later, waiting for Hinata to pop out of the room. As soon as she did her eyes landed on the hand I put on her shoulder.

"See, I didn't kill them, just like you wanted."

The men were screaming in pain though, and if I went by her expression, she didn't seem too happy. It was hard to please this female… but I was going to lighten the mood. I patted her shoulder in reassurance as we four made our way down the hall.

"Thank you, Naruto." She smiled, reaching up to hold the hand I offered. When she realized it pulled too far forward she turned to look at me and screamed, throwing the arm to the floor.

I never laughed so hard.

"You… you ripped off… his arm?" Her hand went to her mouth as if she was going to throw up, her pale eyes glittering with moister.

"Oh, it was only a joke, don't worry. He'll live." I smiled, stopping my laugher as Shikamaru and Gaara stared at me.

"Yeah, if someone gets there in time he might. Now quit acting retarded; we have to get out of here." Shikamaru sighed.

"And I still have to go!" I whined, moving in place.

Everyone ignored me as they continued down the hallway, forcing me to run to keep up with them. We moved quickly, trying not to run into as many humans as necessary. Whenever we did, though, I couldn't stop my natural reaction to make them bleed. I think Hinata was starting to dislike me while I was gaining Gaara's approval, Shikamaru stayed neutral.

Following Shikamaru's lead, we ran into the area where the class 02's were held. Some of the 02's ran, screaming at the sight of me. I had no time to wonder why as humans in uniform pointed rifles at each of us. I stopped in my tracks, having seen first hand what those things could do even to their own creator. The others followed my lead, I had a feeling they didn't know what guns were, especially when someone asked why we stopped. Hopefully the 02's would put two and two together, the smell of gunpowder was hard to ignore.

"The blonde 01 is malfunctioning," the supposed leader shouted, I guess he was talking about me seeing as I was the only blonde. "Aim for him first!"

I let a cruse slip out of my mouth as the clicks of the weapons vibrated in my ears. I dove for the left, hoping the other three would run as well. A bullet bravely missing my leg. I'd have to be faster on my toes to dodge the tiny, round pieces of metal. It moved faster then I thought it could. I took a peek at Hinata, she was safe across the room from me as well as Shikamaru and Gaara. The humans wouldn't go after them until I was dead after all.

"Try to keep going," I whispered to them, sure that they could hear me. "I'll catch up."

Shikamaru nodded, "Just watch yourself."

To distract the humans I did the only thing I could think of, I ran at them head on. A few shots grazed my skin and two painful bullets pierced my skin, burning my insides, but I held down my discomfort long enough to let the others escape.

Another wave of pain went through my body as a blast sounded in my ears. I grabbed the wounded arm and winced as warm liquid coated my hand, the smell of my blood entering my nose with each shaky breath. I hated guns almost as much as I hated the humans who used them.

They stopped firing at me as I fell to my knees, a wave of dizziness overcoming me I guess from the blood I lost. I heard their footsteps walking closer to me until they were standing over me, a gun's cold barrel resting against my skull.

"I hope your death is quick." Someone murmured.

Faster than the human eye, I racked my claws across his stomach and followed the circle around me, cutting into each of them. The pain must have made the first squeeze his hand, causing the gun to fire because another bullet entered me, hitting my collar bone as I stood to attack. They fell to the floor, grabbing their bellies in misery as the blood continued to pour out. I'd have to apologize to Hinata later; these men weren't going to make it.

"Ditto," I said, walking away from.

I exited the area before more humans with guns could come and slowly followed the scent of Gaara. My blood mixing with everything I smelled proved to be a problem as I stopped every three steps hoping I wasn't going in circles, and the pain forced me to move at a snail's pace.

Several 02's I didn't know looked at me funny, not hesitating to move out of my way. I didn't care what they did as long as they didn't call for guards to finish me off.

I believe I finally made it to Shikamaru's room; Gaara's scent was coming from behind the closed door. There was no handle for me to open it with so I peeled it open the same way I had done to mine a day or two ago. I entered the room, letting the door shut behind me and saw the uplifted tile on the floor where they must have gone down to Shikamaru's secret room. I took a deep breath, wincing as pain shot from my multiple wounds, and took my first step on the ladder. Before going all the way down I made sure to pull the tile back over. If it gave us even a few more seconds to escape to freedom, it was worth it.

"Naruto…?" Hinata whispered up to from the dark bottom. They didn't want to turn on the lights, I suppose. We'd be in the dark again, and just after my eyes adjusted to the light.

"Yeah, it's me." I breathed out, taking in air as I rested after a few more steps. My bleeding wasn't stopping like it normally would when I would fight in spars. "Hinata, move away from the ladder a bit." I heard a couple of footsteps, learning my assumption was right.

"What for?" Shikamaru called up.

Not bothering to answer, I counted to three in my head and jumped the rest of the way down, landing in a roll and got to my feet. "That's why." I panted, bending over as more of my red liquid spilt out.

"You're badly… hurt." Hinata said, gently touching my arm. I wasn't aware she would be so close.

"Its fine, I'll heal in no time."

"When we get out of here," Shikamaru said, sounding like he was pushing something heavy. "You'll have to dig the bullets out or else your wounds will never heal and you'll bleed to death." The noise of metal against metal screeched through my ears.

"What the hell are you doing over there?" I yelled over the noise.

"Opening the door for our getaway." He yelled back at me. "Gaara can you pull that side?"

Weather the red head helped or not I wasn't sure, my mind too filled with shock at how close I was to freedom before. It all came crashing down as realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I hadn't made it to Kiba, to save Kiba from this hell hole. I was about to run to the ladder, thinking of a way to get him and return when Hinata grabbed my arm.

"Where are you going?" she asked, forced to speak over the loud crushing noise of the 'door' falling to the floor.

"I have to save my friend-"

"We'll come back for him… after we escape." She sounded like she was pleading with me. Maybe it had something to do with the footsteps coming from over our heads; the humans had entered Shikamaru's room, probably following my blood trail.

"I have to save him now!"

"We don't have time for this." Shikamaru scolded me, walking closer until I felt his hard fist connect with my cheek – his way of knocking sense into me. "Look, damn it, you're the one that started most of this shit. If you're going to go back now then we're all dead. There's your freedom!" I looked over to the open hole in the wall, watching as Gaara walked through it but waited to see what the rest of us were going to do. Hinata begged me again to come as ran over to the 'doorway' as well. The loud pounding and heavy crashing from above told each of our ears the humans were tearing apart Shikamaru's room. "So," he continued, his voice quieting down. "What are you going to do?"

I had to go back and get Kiba. We promised we would escape together. He was my first friend, best friend. The blood dripping from under my hands, however, made me realize two things. I couldn't take on more humans in my current state and I wouldn't have the energy to kill every last one of our creators.

I looked up, trying to see past the darkness and into Kiba's face. Sorry, I would have told him, I'll have to leave you for now… but I will come back. So just stay alive until then.

"Let's go."

* * *

TBC...

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter two posted up :]

I hope readers enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Subjects**

_CagedRaven

* * *

_

Chapter three

We ran through forest trees I had thought only existed in my dreams. The soil, soft under my shoes compared to the hard tiles I grew up with. The smells of nature meeting my nose for the first time. The bright moon glowing in the sky shouting out to me; oh, how I wanted to return its greeting! Everything was so surreal.

"Hold on," I panted, pressing my hand against a trees hard bark for balance. Everyone stopped for me, Gaara halting last.

"What is it?" Hinata asked, taking deep breaths herself. If I wasn't in pain she would have been the slowest runner out of us all.

"I really have got to pee." I sighed, walking away from them into the thick bushes. I undid my pants and welcomed the relief, frowning when I saw blood.

After I was done and fixed my clothes, I walked back over to the three.

"Better?" Gaara asked as if he didn't really care.

"No, I think I was hit in an organ." I answered, gripping my side again. I looked over toward Hinata for advice but she was as red as a tomato.

"Want me to pull them out?" Shikamarua asked, walking closer to me.

"Have you done it before?"

"No, but I might learn faster then you." He added. "You'll have to wait though; I want to get a few more miles away from the building before sunrise."

I nodded. Fair enough, I couldn't argue when his brains were in question. We continued on the path he set out for us, only straying if Hinata saw a better route or if I had to rest again. This sucked, I felt like I was slowing the group down. My feeling didn't change no matter how many times Hinata tried to tell my otherwise. With each step my body felt heavier and soon I started to feel like I was fighting my burning eyes to stay open and alert.

"Shikamaru," I heard Hinata call out to him. Her voice sounded so distant even though I knew she was under my arm holding me up. "We have to help him now… if we don't… if we don't do it now, Naruto will die."

I couldn't focus anymore, the voices were fading out and my sight was being consumed by something even darker than the color black. I wonder if it was death.

* * *

It was like déjà vu all over again. I opened my eyes, quickly shutting them away from the light and covered my lids with my hands. It was like being in Shikamaru's underground room again, only this time the light was more powerful and not as easy to block out. This must have been what was called the sun.

"He's waking up…"

I smiled; Hinata had started to get on my nerves, constantly talking barley above a whisper, but now I found it peaceful to wake up to.

"Morning," I said, peeking at her from under my hand and slowly sitting up.

"Ah," She smiled shyly, "Your eyes are blue again..."

I was about to ask what she meant when I heard Shikamaru tell me he got out three of the bullets. "There's one more in there that I couldn't get without killing you, though, so try not to push yourself."

"Did the bleeding stop at least?"

"Yeah," He sighed, sitting down on the dry dirt. "Just remember if you if you're not careful it'll start up again. You lost a lot of blood and you're pale as hell, anymore blood loss and you could die."

"Got it." I nodded, placing a hand just under my ribs. I knew that was the bullet he couldn't remove immediately. The damn thing had hit around my kidney somewhere, if my memory proved me right.

"Naruto?" I looked back at Hinata, her cheeks were tinted red. "Are you hungry?"

I didn't even have to think about it, my head just nodded. My stomach was always ready to be filled with food.

"You're going to have to wait." Shikamaru shot me an evil smirk, knowing full well that every Class 01 had a bottomless pit.

"Why?" I wanted to scream louder but my dry throat cracked my voice. I barely heard Hinata apologizing for forgetting.

"Because I just pulled three bullets out of you, that's why. One of those was in your gut." At my scowl he added, "Just give yourself sometime to heal."

I let out a loud, annoyed sigh as I laid down roughly on the soil, looking up into the sky and squinting at the sun's light. I looked away after a moment, moving my eyes to each member of our small group. Shikamaru looked as if he was about to take a nap, staring at the clouds. Hinata was leaned up against a tree's base while she picked the small flowers around her absently. Gaara was sitting quietly by himself, looking at nothing; I was surprised he didn't shut us up when we were talking.

"Gaara," I said, "Why were you in the dark room before?"

"Naruto," Shikamaru was looking at me sternly, shaking his head slowly and never breaking eye contact with me. It was a topic that was burned to ashes, never to be spoken of again. I threw up my hands in surrender, looking at a tree close to me instead of the red head and tried with all my might not to wonder about something I wouldn't get an answer to. But that was how the mind worked, once something was out of reach that's all the brain thought about.

Whatever the reason could be that Gaara was in the room, Shikamaru knew. Maybe he was there, or maybe it had something to do with him? I shook my head; there's no point in thinking about it. I sat up once more, getting to my feet carefully so not to open the wounds.

"I'm going to take a walk."

Hinata looked at me with her pale eyes, "Do you want me to go with you?"

I shook my head, "I'm not going to go that far; I'll be alright."

* * *

I sighed softly. The main reason I wanted to take a walk was to clear my head of Gaara and the secret behind his stay in the dark room. This, however, wasn't meant to be because the very person I was trying to remove from my thoughts was taking a walk with me, all thanks to Shikamaru. Actually, I'm amazed that whenever the brunette says something we listen with little questions asked (sometimes none).

"We should head back." I could smell rain in the air. It would be bad if our scent trail was washed away since the two we left behind have no scent.

Gaara either didn't hear me or didn't care because he continued to walk ahead. I tried to tell him again with no response, coming to the conclusion that it was the latter. I care too much, perhaps. Throwing up my hands in annoyance, I followed him because I didn't want him to get lost.

We weaved our way through the maze of trees, kicking up dirt as I tried to keep up with his quickening footsteps. My side began to throb as I jogged; Shikamaru's voice telling me to take it easy echoing in my head.

"Gaara," I called out ahead of me. "Are you looking for something?"

He chose than to stop, looking ahead of himself at something through the trees. I came up beside the red head, slowing my breathing and took a peek at what he was watching. My eyes widened. What were they? The creatures were fairly large with four long legs, helping them stand tall. There small heads had lengthy ears pointing up to the sky, listening to every sound as they grazed. The smaller ones were spotted; the largest had antlers growing out of their skulls, while the middle sided ones didn't sport either, only wearing a tan coat.

"What are those?" I whispered.

Gaara's green eyes moved toward my face, "Deer."

I looked back at them, finding them amazing in their natural environment. I assumed the smaller, spotted ones were the offspring, the tan ones the females, and the large, horned ones the males.

"Did you want to see them?" I asked.

He waited so long to answer me I thought he wasn't at first, until he said, "No, I wanted to eat them."

My head snapped in his direction. "Are you serious? They're pretty big." Was it strange that I was just watching them with admiration and a second later, looking at them like they were prey?

"You can stay here and watch." He wasn't laughing or smiling but I had a feeling he was making fun of me.

"No, I'll help out." Shikamaru's works sounded off in the back of my head again. "Though, Shikamaru did tell me to take it easy and not to eat anything."

The red head's eyes landed back on me, "I know. You're the reason none of us ate anything."

I smiled, "You guys waited for me, how sweet."

"Unwillingly."

I kept my mouth shut, knowing a fight would start if I didn't. Besides, Gaara wasn't someone I'd want to try to mess around with when I couldn't even run at full speed yet. I got the feeling I wouldn't last long at all.

"Which one do you want to take down?" I asked instead.

His long finger pointed to the largest one in the group, his antlers were longer than my arms and his height was abnormal in the group that surrounded it.

"Of course, the biggest one."

"He'll be enough for all of us." Gaara muttered; flexing his fingers as he prepared himself. I began to do the same; I wasn't going to let him have all the fun.

We didn't have to count to a number or tell each other when to go, it came naturally. As we charged for the family of deer, aiming for one, they immediately began fleeing. My eyes began to burn again but I blamed it on the soil being kicked up. My heart raced as the deer moved as fast as they could away from us. The smell of fear entering my nostrils with its intoxicating aroma almost made me forget to go for the largest one instead of the female who was closer. Gaara had began to chase the deer we wanted, waiting for me to start chasing it as well so we could corner it. I was heading in his direction, just about there when a random deer ran past me. I don't really know how to explain it but as soon as that deer landed in my sights I had to have it.

I did a one-eighty, chasing after the female deer. My eyes burning more, it felt like they were on fire; blurring out everything else in my vision except for the deer in front of me. I didn't hear anything besides her hooves pounding into the earth as she tried to escape me. I didn't smell anything but her scent and, as I grabbed onto her hind leg, blood. My claws raked into the deer's flesh, stopping her from running away after a few moments. I held her down, moving closer to her neck and gave a bone crushing bite onto it, finishing the deer off. The way my brain was working at those moments felt so fluid… natural. Like I was supposed to be doing this. At the same time, however, I couldn't help but feel sick to my stomach. I had just killed a creature and that was what made me feel alive… It wasn't like when I killed the humans. That was revenge, self defense even. But this… this was…

"Crying after a kill, that's pathetic."

I looked over to Gaara as he walked over to me, dragging the largest deer's body behind him. I couldn't look at it. It reminded me too much of the female's.

"I just killed something's mother, I should be crying."

"If you're going to whine after everything you've killed just to stay alive yourself then maybe you _were_ a mistake. Class 01's are made to kill."

"Humans. We are only supposed to kill humans, not these." I pointed to the female's body in front of me.

"This is the only thing that'll keep us living, hunting other animals." Gaara stated, grabbing the antler of the male and dragging him as he walked.

I didn't know what to do with the female's body. Should I take it back as well to eat or leave it here? After thinking it over quickly, so I didn't lose the red head, I thought since I killed her for food I might as well continue with it. Besides, Gaara was right. I dried my eyes on the back of my hand and stood, wincing when a pain shot throw my side.

"Damn," I cursed, feeling the reopened wound. "Shikamaru and Hinata are going to kill me."

I fell back to my knees, my forehead leaning against the deer's side. I couldn't help but wonder if this was what humans called karma.

I tried to stand a couple more times, failing and causing my wound to bleed out more. Through the pain caused by the bullet I could feel my stomach still growl in hunger, surprisingly.

The rain had started to fall and Gaara had never come back through the bushes to see where I was since I didn't follow him. I didn't expect he would anyway, the cold bastard.

The earth underneath me became soft and moist, turning into mud and sticking to my rear end whenever I tried to move. It was uncomfortable but would have to do until someone came and found me. Gaara probably wouldn't be of much help. I could see Hinata looking for me. She was sweet and kind; a little too kind when it came to humans. My thoughts lead me to the dark room we had first met in, how her kindness had, most likely, gotten her into the situation to begin with.

My eyes looked toward the deer behind me; the female's dark eyes were lifeless and cold as they stared back at me. The blood I had drawn earlier had stopped flowing out, having mixed with the rain drops and mud. I couldn't take my eyes off her and could feel my mouth water at the thought of tasting a bit of the deer's meat. This feeling of intense hunger was so sudden I couldn't push it away like I had before. It made my pain seem like nothing in its wake.

My eyes burned again, my side burned in protest as I turned around to face the deer but I shoved the feeling away. I felt lost; confused. I wasn't too sure what I was supposed to do when it wasn't running away from me in fear. It took me a couple of minutes to realize I was trying to hunt it, however, didn't need to hunt the already dead animal. I leaned my head down until I was practically touching the deer's fur. Wetting my lips nervously, I sunk my claws into her skin and pulled the fur away. Blood dripped down her side as I continued to remove a small patch of the fur, exposing the flesh underneath. I would need to start a fire to cook the meat, I thought though I didn't start looking for sticks. My eyes were acting strange again, this time I couldn't blame it on dirt. My mind wasn't any better.

* * *

A/N:

Naruto was confused about the dead deer and how to eat it because when the prey doesn't move to trigger the hunter's "chase" logic, it can sometimes be hard for first timers to get it right.


	4. Chapter 4

Subjects

_CagedRaven_

* * *

Chapter 4

"He's covered in blood."

"Most of it isn't his."

"The wound… it opened again."

"I told him not to do anything reckless."

"But…"

"No, it was you that started it, wasn't it, Gaara?"

I felt _so_ sick. My head felt like it was being spit in two and these voices weren't helping. My lungs were working overtime to pull in oxygen – like I had run for hours and hours- and I still felt like I couldn't breathe. My heart was beating so fast against my ribs it hurt almost as much as the wound someone was putting pressure on.

I opened my eyes, seeing Hinata first, again. She was the one holding my bleeding side in hopes it would stop. She gave me a small smile, one filled with sadness. I moved my eyes upward, noticing the rain had stopped but the sky stayed a dim gray.

"Hey!"

I looked to Shikamaru who had leaned over my face. He seemed displeased with me, and/or my condition.

"What's the matter?" Hinata asked, referring to the brunette's loud call.

"He looked like he was going to pass out." He cursed under his breath, "It's the blood loss… maybe I should try to remove the bullet."

"But… but you said he could die before. Naruto had been in a better state than he is now… now, he _will_ die if you do it."

I had started to tune them out, letting my eyes rest for a moment and opened them when I heard them switch places. Hinata had said something to me as I laid my head in her lap but I didn't hear it at all. Something about the bullet that was still inside me…

I closed my eyes again, reached for Hinata's hand when I felt Shikamaru touch around the wound. The good part about last time was I had been asleep, now, as I heard him ask if I was ready, I was awake and _not_ ready to take on more pain then I was already feeling.

I shook my head, a wave of nausea hitting me.

"Naruto, we don't have much time on our-"

I felt Hinata flinch in my hand and Shikamaru turn around quickly. They were on guard. I opened my eyes in a flash and saw that Gaara too was looking, waiting.

"Shit," Shikamaru muttered. "Don't do anything!" He shot at us in a low voice.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to sit up but Hinata held me down with surprising strength. Either that or I was completely weak. I couldn't smell anything pass the blood all around me and on my face.

Hinata rub the red liquid off with her long sleeves, staining the white fabric. "It's a-"

A light cut through the shadows and soon hit Gaara's feet, running up his body until it reached his face. It circled the ground, hitting the rest of us, as well as the remains of the deer's body, in the same way but stayed steady on me.

"I thought the deer were acting funny…" A tall man with silver hair that stood high above his head came into our clearing. With one visible eye the color of coal and the other covered it was easy to realize why he would need a flashlight. His voice was muffled when he spoke thanks to a mask hiding most of his pale face.

"A human." I growled, paying little attention to my pain and weakness now.

Hinata wrapped an arm around my head protectively in an embarrassing manner, as I felt I should have been blocking the human from her. I pushed my thoughts away and looked at Shikamaru, what was running through his mind? Gaara could kill the man easily, the red head seemed to be waiting as well, but Shikamaru failed to give any kind of signal.

"Who are you? I don't know your faces."

All our eyes fell on Shikamaru, unsure what to do. After a couple of seconds the brunette shrugged, "You don't look familiar to us either." The light moved to him once he'd spoken.

The silence that came after his answer was thick and heavy. The human didn't seem to trust us and I know we didn't trust him. I could feel Hinata's long hair touching my face as she looked at us all.

"Shikamaru…" She started, startled when the light moved to her. I looked up at her, and held in my chuckle. She reminded me of the deer Gaara and I hunted. Whatever she had called Shikamaru for he nodded in understanding. The 02's always seemed to be on the same page.

He sighed, scratching the top of his head. "Look," he said lazily, "We're from out of the area. Our friend is hurt pretty bad and we're clueless as to what we need to do." I scowled when he mentioned my situation.

"Can you…help us?" Hinata had asked barely above a whisper. I wanted to smack her (If only I could lift my arm that high…). There was no way I wanted to have a _human_ help me, I'd rather die! Gaara whipped around to look at her, obviously sharing my thoughts, but stayed silent after receiving a glance from the brunette. He relaxed visibly, waiting to see where Shikamaru's plan would have us headed to now.

The human thought it over in his head, "Fist, tell me your names, and where you came from."

"That's Gaara, Hinata, Naruto, and I'm Shikamaru." He pointed us out quickly; I was surprised he gave our real names. "We left our home village."

"Why's that?"

"Because they tried to have us killed."

The human stared at Shikamaru, clearly not satisfied with the lack of information. I was about to tell him to forget it when a swift pain that felt like a bomb had gone off inside my chest caught me off guard. I bit down on the inside of my cheek to stop my cry; however, as Hinata called out my name in distress I knew she felt me tense up.

"Please…" Hinata begged, tears brimming her eyes as she looked down at me.

I closed my eyes, contemplating what would be better. Excepting the humans help to stop Hinata's waterworks or die now instead of letting his hands near me. I so wanted to choose the latter. I wanted to snarl as he walked closer to me. Attack him with everything in my power; kill him. But Hinata held my head closely to herself, her tears hitting my face as my weak body overworked itself for air. Even if she wasn't here to hold me back I wouldn't have been able to do anything to the human. My body was already giving up on me.

Shikamaru moved over, still staying close, as the human got down on his knees to see my damage.

"You didn't give your name." Shikamaru said, watching the human out of the corner of his eye.

"Hatake Kakashi."

He had two names? I wondered, still fighting back my natural want to behead him. It was almost like he knew where my thoughts were going, this Hatake Kakashi. For his uncovered eye looked into my own as the very thought entered my head.

"I can't do anything for your friend." The silver hair man said, looking at Hinata. "It looks as though he was shot in the kidney."

Her pale eyes squeezed shut and sprinkled more tears down her cheeks.

"However," The human continued, obviously a sucker for a crying female – but then again who am I to talk. "I think one of my friends back in the village may be able to help. We'll have to hurry."

No. No, no, no! I looked at Shikamaru with horror in my eyes. I could barely control myself around one human; I didn't want to go into the village where more of them were.

"How can we get there in time?" The brunette asked as Hatake Kakashi stood. He pulled out something from his pocket and dangled it in front of Shikamaru.

"I'll drive."

I didn't understand what that meant; looking at the others I was sure they didn't either. To my complete shock Shikamaru nodded again, accepting and trusting the human.

Hinata removed her hold on me as she got to her feet, offering help when Shikamaru bent down to pick me up.

"Its fine, I can stand." I said breathlessly. My pride was taking a major beating… I sat up slowly to prove my point. Shikamaru throw my arm over his shoulder, cursing me under his breath.

"Standing is different than walking. We're racing the clock here to keep you alive." He brought me to my fill height quickly, needing to bend over slightly since he was taller then me. I felt my stomach flip-flop and my throat gag as bile played at the back of my throat. My free hand flew to my mouth to try to keep it down.

"Need to vomit?" Shikamaru asked, though he didn't sound disgusted.

My fight with my insides was short and pathetic; I nodded holding the chunks in my mouth until the brunette moved me to a tree. After what felt like forever, my throat burned and my mouth tasted of…deer.

"It has nothing to do with the bullet." Shikamaru told me secretly as we moved toward the human's 'car'. "You ate it raw. Our stomachs can't process it. No matter how much your brain is telling you to eat it right after you kill the animal cook it first."

I nodded tiredly, not fully hearing him. My pain had increase after throwing up and my frame, weakening to zero energy. I wasn't even moving my feet anymore, instead Shikamaru was dragging me.

Once we reached the 'car' I saw it was a large steel contraption on wheels. Inside was roomy, with enough leather seats for us all. I sat next to Hinata, leaning against her body as I closed my eyes to the pain. Gaara was on the other side of me and Shikamaru sat in the seat beside the human in front of us.

I jumped as the car made a noise, knowing Hinata did the same. She soon reassured me it was nothing although her flattering heart under my ear told me differently.

As minutes passed and her heart steadied, the warmth of her figure soothed me I soon found myself unable to open my eyes.

***

The lumpy road I had fallen asleep on had smoothed out. When I had woken up to realize that was a mystery. We must have been either closer to the village or in it. My head was too heavy to lift and look out the window. I'm sure I had bled all over the inside of Hatake Kakashi's car. I didn't care too much, with the leather it should be easy to clean up. Not that _that_ matter either. Any kind of hardship I could give a human, intentional or unintentional, was welcomed in my book.

I felt the car jerk to a stop; a bright light fighting my eyelids to invade my eyes. Someone - Hatake Kakashi I think - left the car, slamming the door behind him. I could hear the human call for another; the words were muffled and dull behind the car door and Shikamaru's voice.

"Do you know if Naruto's awake?"

I could feel Hinata shake her head. I wanted to let them know that I was alright – considering the situation (I mean I wasn't dead yet) - my mouth, however, refused to move. Just like the rest of my body.

"Maybe he's dead."

I wanted to kick Gaara's face in.

"No… he's breathing. It's quick…and shallow but its there."

I felt Hinata squeeze my hand tightly.

"The human's coming back with friends."

"They're going to help Naruto, just remember that." Shikamaru said quickly in a whispered voice. "And try to act…normal."

"Like a human."

If I could see them now I knew I'd find the red head glaring at Shikamaru with his bright green eyes.

The door opened loudly, I felt Gaara move beside me as he exited the car.

"God, Kakashi, the boy is half dead." An older male's voice commented. "And _who_ are you all?"

Shikamaru quoted our names again, leaving the car as well.

"Well, Shikamaru, I don't think our best doctor can do anything for your friend. It's a miracle he lasted this long."

"Jiraiya," Hatake Kakashi said lowly. That name echoed in my head like I should have known it…

"Fine," he sighed, "But if she can't do anything, don't say I didn't warn you." I could feel him getting closer to me… cornering me in the car with Hinata beside me. Her energy was restless and, mixed with my uneasiness, made me jumpy. I may not have been able to move but I forced my eyes open to get a look at him. His long white hair spiked in any direction, and strange red lines came down his cheeks from his eyes, like he was crying blood… That was all I could see pass my blurry vision and the bright lights behind him.

"Awake, are you? Can you move closer?"

Even if I could I didn't want to. Instead I let a low growl escape my throat, a weak attempt at trying to make him leave me alone. Too bad my growl sounded more like whine.

"It's alright," Shikamaru said. I could see his silhouette moving around the car to Hinata's door. "I'll get him out."

Hinata moved out of the car awkwardly, as I had been leaning on her, and helped Shikamaru place me on a firm mattress of sorts. As soon as my back touched it I was out once more, finding it safe with my three companions around me in this strange new world we entered.

* * *

TBC...

* * *

I'm sorry for the long wait for an update.


	5. Chapter 5

**Subjects**

_CagedRaven_

_

* * *

_

Chapter 5

I groaned, moving away from a bright light. What was up with humans and those fucking florescent bulbs? They were everywhere and always on whenever I woke up!

I scowled, remembering once was with Shikamaru, in his underground room, and another time it wasn't a light bulb at all but the sun. All that aside, I seemed to have been waking up with brightness around me a lot these past three nights. It didn't help that my head felt like it was hit by a falling tree.

"Good morning." I felt my hand being lightly squeezed as Hinata's voice filled my ears.

"Morning." I replied, fighting a yawn. I opened my eyes to see her sitting beside me, a thin book in her free hand and the curtains closed behind her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Alright," I turned on my side to face her better. "It could be worse. You stayed with me last night?"

Hinata blushed, "Uh, no – yes! Shikamaru… he said to stay with you while he and Gaara looked for a place to stay."

"How long does he plan to have us stay in this village? I still have to go back and get Kiba…"

"Yes… I'm not too sure…"

I could hear the sadness in her voice as a frown tugged on her lips. "Don't worry about it, I'll figure it out."

She smiled weakly, closed her book and stood. "I'll go tell the doctor you're awake."

Once she was out the door I was left to my empty thoughts. I looked around the pale room; everything in the color family of white or tan. It was rather boring.

I could hear conversations from beyond the closed door; footsteps, tapping of keys, and such. I could also smell lots and lots of humans. How could Shikamaru and Gaara leave Hinata here alone? If something happened I would have been not much help sleeping. When I saw them I'd have to tell them something about this.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as the door opened and Hinata returned with a female human behind her. The woman had long blonde hair pulled into hanging ponytails, big brown eyes, and a large set of breast that was hard to ignore. Her fair skin looked bright and healthy against her white shirt and forest green sweater. As much as I hated humans, I couldn't lie; she was pleasant to look at.

"I hear you're up already." The human stated, looking at me for a second as she pulled a chart up to flip through. Not knowing what to say I remand silent. "I thought you would be out for a couple more nights… more so with the lack of blood." Her brown eyes peeked at me every so often pass the chart before she replaced it to its resting spot. "You look good though; colors returning to your face. I guess your friend was right when he told me you wouldn't need the blood transfusion…"

She must have been talking to herself because I was completely lost and still unsure. Hinata wasn't back yet and I didn't want to be alone with a human. I might fall to my urges again a kill her if left alone too long. Shikamaru wouldn't be happy with me, I'm sure. It didn't help that she continued to talk on in a mumbled voice as if she were taking notes. Reminded me of my creator when I was first born. Everything was to his satisfaction…

Just as I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself for growling Hinata popped into the room, Shikamaru and Gaara behind her. I recognized the change of clothing immediately as they were not just the white and black ones we had all been wearing before. Gaara had on a red sweater, dulled down so it wasn't as bright as his hair with dark blue pants that seemed durable. He's shoes were black boots that looked ready for any kind of weather. Shikamaru wore almost the same thing, sporting a green zipper up sweater inside of Gaara's red, but with a tan shirt underneath. The same looking pants covered his legs but his running shoes were a white so clean they almost seemed to glow. To say the least, I was jealous. Here they come dressed in great clothes (the one thing humans can do nicely) and I'm dressed in this ugly off white and blue spotted gown. If the human wasn't here I'd have kicked them both their asses.

Even Hinata was dressed in human clothing though I would have killed them all if I woke up in what she was wearing. The frilly white top with knee length skirt looked alright on her but I couldn't image it on any male.

With my mind on their fashion I hadn't noticed when another human entered the room. She was talking to the blonde woman with the huge chest. Trying to whisper about someone else's health before they both waved their goodbyes and left.

"Good reddens." I mumbled, relaxing again in the company of Hinata and the others.

Hinata frowned slightly as she told in a low voice, "If they hadn't been here to help you… you would have been dead, Naruto."

"Don't remind me…" I scowled.

"She's right," Shikamaru said in a lazy voice, making me look over in his direction. "You would have been a cold corpse by now if Hinata hadn't asked Hatake Kakashi for his help."

"Pathetic."

They were all right of course, but that didn't make me feel any better about it. Hinata and Shikamaru's words made me feel foolish but Gaara's hit home. My pride was taking one attack after another.

"Shut the fuck up, the only reason I was hurt was because I was trying to distract the gunfire from hitting your ass!" I growled out loudly. His green eyes looked into my blue as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"That's not a good enough excuse," I glared draggers at him as he spoke; "Anyone with a brain would have either blocked the bullets or moved so they wouldn't have hit a dangerous spot."

I was out of the bed and gripping his throat tightly at his last words; my hand bleeding from where the needle was pulled out, my fangs flashing and brows furrowed heavily. My resentment toward him was ripping from my throat in a deep loud growl; more so when I saw I hadn't caught him by surprise and he didn't seem to be in pain.

Shikamaru called my name sternly once from the spot he hadn't moved from. It was a tone that almost sounded like a warning; I didn't know what to think of it because I smelled fear in the air. I knew it wasn't coming from Shikamaru, me, or Gaara – it had to be coming from Hinata- but my mind _wanted_ it to be coming off of the red head in thick waves. I _wanted_ him to be so scared he pissed his pants. I _wanted_ to see his face to move from that indifferent expression into one of submission under my burning gaze.

The brunette's voice cut through my thoughts like a hot knife through butter. He was standing over me, something about his stance telling me there was nothing lazy about him at the moment – after all he moved so quickly across the room.

"Knock it off, both of you. Or have you forgotten where we are?"

I let my arm fall to my side, breaking eye contact with Gaara's green ones and keeping them to the floor. It was another odd moment between the four of us where I was consumed by the feeling of Shikamaru being eight feet taller than myself and looking down at me. Though I knew this wasn't the case I still felt like I couldn't defend myself against his stare until I moved from the area, and so I did. Choosing to head over to Hinata where she welcomed me to sit in the chair next to her as she looked at my hand. It had already stopped bleeding but I felt at ease at her touch- more so because Shikamaru had moved his eyes from me to Gaara.

To my utter unhappiness I was forced to stay another night in this building Hinata called a hospital. The blonde female human from earlier had even had the 'intravenous' line replaced after learning I had pulled it out. The machine the little plastic tube was connected to, pushing a clear liquid the smelt like salty water, seemed silent to the humans ears but to mine and Hinata's it was impossible to sleep with it running. We were too use to the complete silence of the building we'd escaped from, so quite it made your ears ring.

"Are you still awake?" Hinata asked softly in the dimly lit room. She was lying next to me in the bed with her back facing me; I could smell the embarrassment coming off her as it filled the air. I practically had to pull her into the bed after she told me she was just going to stay on the chair. She must have done it the night before also but I couldn't help but feel horrible for it – after all it was my felt.

"Yes," I sighed out, fighting the urge to beat the fucking machine to pieces.

Her pale eyes peeked at me over her shoulder and when our eyes met her face burned a deep red before she turned back around. I brushed it off, classifying it as just one of the weird things the female 02 did sometimes. Other than her strange behaviors at time, like how she's too caring for humans and her continuous battle with embarrassment, I found her company to be very relaxing at times. Whether it was whispery voice or gentle touch, I have no clue. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was the opposite sex that I found soothing.

I heard the door open and close behind a human as they entered. I tensed automatically, listening to their footsteps… their breathing. I could tell it was another female, but even without my nose I would have been able to guess it seeing as how I see so little of men unless they were in the hospital like myself.

Hinata gripped my free hand- holding me back from doing something stupid, I guess. To prevent myself from growling in annoyance I buried my face into her shoulder blades, ignoring her flinch and tensing. As the female human pressed a few buttons on the loud machine, checking _whatever_ needed to be checked, I smelled more then just salty water enter my nose. The nurse, as Hinata called her, was embarrassed…? I did all I could to stay still and pretend I was sleeping as laughter wanted to rip from my throat. There was no reason for the human to be embarrassed to me, wasn't she doing her job? What could possibly be so awkward about that stupid machine? Humans just made no sense to me.

When the nurse left I let a chuckle free as I rocked my forehead on Hinata's back, "I don't get it." Hinata didn't say anything; my only sign that she didn't fall asleep was her uneven breathing and when she let go of my hand. I wasn't sure if the release meant she wanted her space again or if she just didn't see the need to hold it anymore but seeing as she wasn't telling me to move I left my head to rest in the nook between her shoulder blades. The contact with another living '_monster' _like myself gave me comfort in the strange world we had entered willingly.

I didn't know I had fallen asleep until I woke up, my bladder painfully telling me it didn't know if I would make it to the bathroom. I let out an annoyed groan as I rolled away from Hinata – mumbling to her when she looked at me half awake about needing the toilet. I continued to move to the bathroom door until I felt a pinch run up my arm, causing me to stop and look down to see the damn 'intravenous' line had been pulled out again- making the machine give a shrieking cry and Hinata jump. Rolling my eyes, I kept going and closed the door behind me.

"What's the point of the damn thing if it keeps coming out?" I cursed under my breath as I relieved myself and flushed the toilet.

I could hear Hinata voice after I turned off the sink water, she was talking to another female human. It must have been the blonde woman that everyone answered to… If that was the case I had to demand she let me out of here _today_. I don't really care if she said no; I'd still be walking out this building one way or another. Whether that be out the front door with her consent or out the door with her and everybody's blood coating my hands. For Hinata's sake though I hoped the blonde female leader wouldn't put up too much of a fight and let me go– for my peace of mind, I hoped she would scream and cry until I ripped out her tongue.

I couldn't help grinning at that thought - imaging all the blood that would be spilt if I could _thank_ the doctors for my good health by putting them six feet under.

My eyes began to feel itchy, and when I rubbed them, burned as if soap was in them. I blinked the random feeling away, wondering what had caused it. I didn't bother to give it much thought; shrugging it off I exited the small bathroom seeing the blonde female waiting in the room. Hinata was nowhere to be seen, meaning I was left alone with this human again. Meaning I had to fight the grin my lips wanted to pull into – my thoughts having returned to the female's slow, painful death.

"You pulled the line out again, I see." She said as if she was annoyed.

"I don't see the purpose of it and it only gets in my way." I said in the same tone, crossing my arms.

"The purpose is so you don't get dehydrated and just in case you need medicine for one reason or another. Now I have to replace it, _again_." She was talking to me like I was some retarded child… just like how our creator use too. "Try not to pull this one out; it's not easy to get an I.V. in your veins to begin with."

I saw she had everything set up on a pad on the table. I wasn't moving an inch closer to her, standing exactly where I was with my arms still crossed and for some reason getting pissed off more and more with every passing second. "Well…" She waved her hand toward the bed, mocking me. A growl escaped my throat; I wanted so much to kill her right here and now! I noticed her small flinch, it excited me – made my eyes feel itchy again but before I could even act on it Shikamaru entered the room. I could tell my quick change of body langue (dropping my shoulders, averting my eyes to the floor, and walking further away from the human so that I was on the complete opposite side of the room) didn't fool him. Though I didn't look in his face I knew his dark eyes were on me. As Hinata entered the room and walked over to me I found shelter from his hard stare.

"Tsunade-" the same woman who had come in the day before paused in the doorway, I guess even she could feel the heaviness in the air. The name she spoke ringed in my ears, calling my attention as if I had heard it before… like I should have known it. It was bothering me so much, eating at me, that I didn't even see when the two humans had left nor that I had missed half of Shikamaru's conversation with _me. _

"Are you listening?" He sighed out in his lazy voice, dropping his shoulders when I shook my head. "Never mind, it was nothing worth repeating anyway." He waved it off.

My eyes moved from his to Hinata's, Hinata's to Gaara's… I couldn't help but feel like I missed something important.

* * *

TBC…

* * *

Sorry for the long wait. Please review after reading my chapters, it gives me encouragement to continue my stories.


	6. Chapter 6

Subjects

_CagedRaven

* * *

_

Chapter 6

I couldn't thank Shikamaru enough. Somehow the genius had got me out of the hospital with the blonde female's consent and I was free… or as free as one could get in our situation. I went from walking out the front door of the hospital freely to being dragged into Hatake Kakashi's home. Shikamaru _had_ warned me that I wouldn't like where him and Gaara have been staying, all I could think at the time was nothing could be worse than that cold, colorless, noisy building.

I was completely wrong.

Now I was in this human's dwelling; and every inch of it smelled like him. To be honest I expected that but I was still annoyed that my nose started to run. I had one memory of my nose doing this before. When the female human who would bathe herself in a flowery scent would be in the same room as me. I don't remember anything else about her expect that, oh and her death. I guess someone else got sick and tired of her powerful smell. Hatake Kakashi's home didn't smell like flowers though, and neither did he, but I still wasn't very fond of it.

When Hinata handed me a tissue from a box on one of his table's I saw Hinata was the only one that didn't need one.

"You too, huh? I've tried to find whatever it is you seem to be allergic to but…" The human started, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't finish his sentence though; Shikamaru waved it off after he wiped his nose.

"We'll get use to it after a while."

I wasn't really paying attention to Shikamaru's discussion with the human, too busy trying to image Gaara with a runny nose and failing. I grinned as I looked over to the red head- my smile quickly died as his eyes glared back at me as if he knew what was on my mind. I averted my eyes only after Shikamaru pulled me back into the conversation.

"Is that alright with everyone?"

Gaara glared some more and Hinata hesitated before looking at me for my answer.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening." I gave a weak smile, my hands shoved in the deep pockets of my new orange sweater. Shikamaru sighed heavily, his shoulders dropped and his eyes could barely be seen under their lids. I saw immediately his was pissed.

"We're sharing a room," he pointed at Gaara, himself, and me to my horror. "And Hinata will have the room across the hall."

"No way!" I screamed, "No fucking way in hell I'm staying in a room with him!"

The red head agreed with me for once catching the rest of us off guard. Quickly I recollected my thoughts, "Yeah, I'll just stay with Hinata!"

Shikamaru shook his head, "Naruto, Hinata needs her space being a female and all-"

"Dumb ass." Gaara finished for the 02 brunette, making me royally pissed. A heavy growl of frustration and anger ripped through me as I rounded on the red head but I couldn't do anything to him at all as Hinata stepped in between me and him.

"Its fine," she stuttered, placing her hands lightly on my arms. "Really, I don't mind. Thank you so much letting us stay here with you, Hatake Kakashi."

It was at that moment I remembered the human in the room (how could I forget..?), his eyes were slightly wider than before but other then that small change everything was the same. My unnatural growl probably startled him just as it had the blonde female human from the hospital. I wasn't any less excited…

"Um… Naruto," Hinata pushed me gently back a step or two, catching my attention with my name. "Why don't we go for run?"

"That's a great idea." For once Shikamaru sounded generally happy; too bad he was happy to remove me from his view.

I brushed my moody emotions away, taking Hinata up on her offer. Maybe a good run was what I needed after being shot and now stuck in this human infested town for who knows how long… I actually had to ask about that soon. After all, I still had Kiba to save.

* * *

We had escaped the large buildings and all the humans, finding shelter in the trees, grass, and dirt. As I inhaled the fresh oxygen and all the scents around me, I enjoyed every minute of it. The air whipped my cheeks as I picked up more speed, weaving between the tall trees and bushes covering the ground. I could hear Hinata far behind me, panting for breath as she tried to keep up with me. Letting out a huff of air I began slowing down step by step until I came to a complete stop. I was expecting the silence of the forest to enter my ears as it had the other night but aside from Hinata's footsteps and labored breathing came a group of voices I didn't recognize.

"Thanks for stopping, Naruto." She breathed out, one hand over her chest as she took in more air.

"Yeah… Do you hear that?" I focused on the noise, pinpointing it two miles east to our current location. My feet were moving before I even knew it, but this time a little slower so I didn't lose Hinata.

Two miles are nothing to cover, even at Hinata's slow pace, we were there in minutes. My eyes took in the medium sized group of humans as I made my way out of the foliage; Hinata hanging onto my arm in hopes of preventing me from catching their eyes but in truth they wouldn't have noticed me if she hadn't stumbled. All eyes were on us, a couple were surprised and some just annoyed. However their stares didn't matter to me, the fresh scent of a drop of blood is what had me grinning. I decided to take Shikamaru's advice for this moment and pretend I was one of them.

"What's going on here?" Unfortunately my sarcasm was pretty clear and I was just barely controlling my laughter as a few humans stepped aside, unknowingly giving me a clear view to the wounded kid on the ground. Hinata's gripped tightened; reminding me where I was and what I wasn't supposes to be doing. Letting more blood rain down was a clear _hell no. _ "Picking on others, I see."

"Just who the fuck are you?" a tall male with light brown hair, dark eyes, and looked heavier than myself took about three steps toward us. He pointed angrily and glared as if we interrupted the best part of their battle. As pissed off as he was making me in that quick second with his shitty little finger that I just wanted to rip off I had to agree silently with my own inner thoughts. Maybe we did interrupt their fight because there was so little blood… I mean, I had to get this close to smell it. That's just sad.

"Hey, I asked a damn question! Are you going to answer it or are you just going to stand there like retards until I beat it out of you?" The same male human started to crack his knuckles, trying his best to intimidate me. I couldn't hold in my laughter! I let it rip through my body, completely draining me of oxygen and causing my eyes to tear. Hinata was still trying her best to keep the human safe from my hands and the idiots didn't even know it. As my laughter died down I could still hear it echoing throughout the forest. The male human that challenged us was confused.

I really looked him over, compared to the humans he might be strong but just from a glance I knew he wouldn't survive a throw from Hinata let alone me. I waved him off, paying more attention to the stuttering female beside me.

"Uh, we're new to the area… you see, we were just taking a walk when we came upon your group. Sorry for any inconvenience…" She tired her best to pull me out of the clearing, and I was letting her pull me, before I said anything else but I didn't have to. The human said something himself that dug his own grave.

"That didn't answer the question, bitch; it only told us that you and that laughing jackass were having sex in the woods until you heard us beating the living shit out of that guy!" The "_oh's"_ that followed suit from the other humans that hadn't said a word for some unknown reason froze me to the spot.

"Naruto…" Hinata's pale eyes look back at me nervously, her hand was still tugging on my wrist in hopes I would just let it go but I couldn't. I just couldn't, not after he called Hinata a bitch. Like she was some dog. Humans were nothing but trash that needed to be burned.

I looked over my shoulder, letting my eyes glare back into the male human's dark brown ones. In a forced neutral voice I asked him to repeat what he had said, a snarl whispering underneath my words.

"What, you don't find that funny?" Before the loud group of _"oh's" _ erupted once more I was in the male's face with hands around his throat, my eyes burning as I saw him struggling for breath and his eyes rolling back as his legs gave out from beneath him. The other humans were screaming in shock, fear, and calling out the male's name as he was on the verge of never coming back. But he would remain alive, I realized as Hinata pulled at my arms while crying my name, tears of fear rolling down her cheeks. My burning eyes dulled and my anger was pushed as far back as I could get it. I had to remember that Hinata didn't like me to kill humans…for whatever the reason.

I let the human's throat go, dropping him to the ground as he coughed and threw up, gripping his chest as air was allowed in. Another blonde female rushed to his side, throwing glares my way every so often as she patted the back of the male and talked to him.

"Kankuro, are you alright?" He coughed some more and the blonde female winced, calling over her shoulder another name. "Sasuke, Sasuke, we have some bastard here that seems to want a good fight!"

"No! No, we don't!" Hinata called back, her eyes so teary and pathetic that I pulled her red face into my chest.

"Don't worry, be thankful… He's still alive." I looked down at the two humans before me. They shared some of the same scents… but it was different. I guessed they must be living together or something but all in all I really didn't care. "Let's go."

"Hang on." It was a new voice, one that sounded bored and thick with annoyance as he spoke. The male human entered my view at his own pace, looking me over a couple of times before he talked again. My eyes did the same, looking from his black hair to his sneaker covered feet. His pale skin stood out too much with all his dark clothing and his dark eyes that also looked black were piercing and annoying to say the least. "Are you at least going to give me your name since you half way killed one of my friends?"

"Why don't you give yours first?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," Two names again, I glared more at him.

"Naruto," After a moment he realized that was all I was going to say and instead asked for Hinata's, in which she gave herself.

"I have a feeling we're going to be running into each other a lot."

I huffed out air as I pulled Hinata back into the forest, throwing over my shoulder, "Spare me." I couldn't deny it though, what the male human, Uchiha Sasuke, had said. His scent was familiar to my nose even though I was quite sure I had never seen him before. When things where thrown into someone's face like that it was always a sign of foreshadowing or some shit.

"Let's go back to Hatake Kakashi's house, Hinata. I feel like a nap."

* * *

After a refreshing run back to the Hatake Kakashi's house, a nap, and wonderful hot bath I was called downstairs by Shikamaru. I looked at Hinata who had been lying down ever since we got back. Her soft breathing so slight I could barely hear it; reminding me of her voice. At the brunette's second call I stood, letting a small sigh escape my mouth followed by soft cruses.

"Yeah?" I breathed out, annoyance clear in my tone as I made it into the room.

Shikamaru's eyes were hard, piercing right through me and this time I didn't have Hinata to shield me. Instead I just looked away; he was obviously pissed at me for whatever reason. Gaara beside him just looked smudge even though his face remained the same. The human, Hatake Kakashi, stood in the doorway of the living room, his back facing the kitchen where another human sat. I knew the scent instantly and knew why I was in deep shit. I decided to play it dumb…

"Hinata's still sleeping." I announced lamely, pointing over my shoulder towards the staircase.

Shikamaru nodded, his arms remaining crossed over his chest and eyes never leaving me. "Its fine, I didn't ask for her." I was surprised at how natural his voice sounded. "Let's go outside for a moment." I knew I didn't have much of an option. I just nodded, looking anywhere but him as I made my way to the front door.

"Is everything alright?" The older human asked, clearly a little confused about the situation. I heard Shikamaru reassure him and tell Gaara to wait inside as his footsteps echoed mine. If Hatake Kakashi didn't understand anything then I guess the younger human must had come inside the home earlier talking about this afternoon, giving Shikamaru tiny clues that I had been the one who had almost killed his friend. Giving the fair human my name probably wasn't the smartest move either.

Once the door was closed behind us I followed Shikamaru's steps throughout the town. I feel the humans' eyes on us; hear their mumbles about our mysterious arrival and some of them already knew of the incident in the forest. This place was pretty small huh? Word got around fast. I knew Shikamaru would tell me the same exact thing and I would feel that much stupider because I now know just how small this society of humans was if my almost killing that male in the woods was already the big news. That meant they were all watching us… waiting for us to slip up. Even more of a reason for us to leave in my opinion. Just what was the angry 02 in front of me waiting for?

As our walk lead us closer and closer to the forest the group of eyes watching us lessened but my body didn't relax and it wasn't because of Shikamaru. It was just these nasty humans. There were just so many of them… was it truly possible to kill them all?

I was pulled out of my thoughts as a random female blonde ran up to Shikamaru with a smile on her face and pink cheeks. She was wearing a light purple summer dress and open toed shoes. Her hair was pulled back and long, her chest was also big making me believe every blonde female human had large breast… But none of these things bothered me. What made me puzzled was how the 02 seemed to calm down when she walked up to him. Even as he pushed her away and told her in a bland voice to just leave him alone his body language told me otherwise. I couldn't help but wonder when they had met. So, for future reference, as I walked around her as Shikamaru had done I inhaled her scent deeply. Taking a mental note of how she was the first person I knew to smell of real flowers.

"Ino!" it was said with such anger I turned to look at which human had said it. It was a male I knew that much. The human had long blonde hair as well, his eyes a lighter shade of blue than my own, but he also had a flower scent around him.

"I thought I told you to leave those strange newcomers alone! We know nothing about them." He was holding the arm of the female who had just spoken to Shikamaru tightly and whispering his words in hopes we wouldn't hear him. Shows how much of us he _didn't_ know.

"Oh, calm down dad," This female I assumed was name Ino removed her arm from the male's hold and became almost just as angry. Could she see the size difference between the two of them, the age difference? He could beat her bloody if he wanted too. I could feel a grin washing over my face just at the thought. I could tear them all to pieces in seconds. I remembered the arm of the guy I had ripped off back when we escaped that dark room. The memory of fresh blood almost made me forget where I was.

"I am only trying to be friendly!" and with that the female stormed off, the older blonde male huffing behind her and Shikamaru (oddly enough) was once more annoyed. I really wanted to know what I had missed between the three of them. I couldn't really ask now though, seeing as the 02 was pissed again and I was more then sure he was going to take it out on me. So I continued to follow the brunette into the thick forest where no one, hopefully, would hear our argument… or screams of pain.

* * *

TBC…

* * *

The reason Naruto, Gaara, and Shikamaru's nose was running is because Kakashi's scent was strong in his house, which is only normal. After staying in the home for a couple of days the running stopped.


	7. Chapter 7

Subjects

_CagedRaven_

* * *

Chapter 7

Sitting by myself with only what had happened earlier on the forefront of my mind I wanted nothing more then to run my claws through flesh and bones. That Shikamaru… I had no idea what he was planning - if he _was_ planning anything at all. Telling me to act as human as I could, it wasn't possible; I wasn't human but a monster. It was in my nature to kill just like it should have been in all of us or did he forget?

My anger was rising with every passing thought but I soon put out the flames when the image of killing off the 02 entered my mind. It made me a little bit worried… just imagining trying to fight someone as smart as him would only leave me in a bloody heap on the floor. I knew at that moment that that was the one and only reason Gaara and I listened to him with little questions asked even though we're stronger. Better built than the 02's in strength. He played his role perfectly, just what he was made for. He was so good at it even another 02 like Hinata listened to him without saying much. But then again her shy demeanor was what got her in that dark room…

The dark room reminded me of the whole place we had run away from… even Kiba. It made my annoyance spike that Shikamaru had forgotten about my friend. What annoyed me more was that h didn't want to tell me anything about the blonde female, Ino. Just who the fuck was she to him anyway?

I could feel my eyes stinging a bit and wondered if this was what Shikamaru had mention in the forest. Did my eyes really change colors? Is this what Hinata was talking about back when I was hurt? The idea of them changing red whenever I became pissed was pretty cool to me but it wasn't something a human's eyes could do. I was told to keep calm, learn to ignore other things besides what our group told me and try and seem like I was friendly. _"Who knows, you might just come to find not all humans are bad." _

Was he talking about that Ino female when he had told me that?

I was pulled from my thoughts as the scent of Uchiha Sasuke was starting to come closer to me. I let out an agitated sigh, trying to do as Shikamaru had said and return my eyes to blue (if they had really changed at all…).

"I knew we would run into each other…"

I rolled my eyes over to the fair skinned human lazily as he walked into the room mumbling under his breath about the area being so dark. My chin rested in the palm of my hand as I sat on the soft, large chair Hatake Kakashi called a "sofa". I smelt him coming before he himself even knew… "What gave it away?" I asked but didn't really care.

A slow grin played on his lips, annoying me for unknown reasons. Maybe it had something to do with this show he put on. He acted like he wanted nothing to do with Hatake Kakashi before… and he was aloof with his friends before earlier in the day, but it seems like he goes out of his way just to find me and get on my nerves. I really wanted to slowly pluck out one of his teeth at a time when he looked at me again and sat on the sofa next to me.

"You're wearing a pair of my jeans." Uchiha Sasuke told me nonchalantly picking up a rectangular device and pressing a button. When a screen flashed on and voices began speaking I immediately thought it was one of the monitors I would see my creator on sometimes back in the building we ran away from. I couldn't help but let a growl hum in the back of my throat until I noticed it was different. The humans on the screen were much different. They didn't look down on me as if I was nothing but the dust underneath their shoes. They didn't look at me as if saying "I hold all your lives in my hand"… I kind of liked that. I didn't have to be tense and on guard. I could look away. Those eyes weren't going to do anything to me.

I fingered a belt loop on the pants I wore, noticing his scent on them for the first time sense I had them on. It was dulled and masked by a soapy smell as well as my own now but it was there. I felt retarded for not smelling it before. But it wasn't only the pants. The male human beside me had a light scent hidden in the house as well; it was just buried under Hatake Kakashi's… as if he didn't spend much time here. I removed my chin my hand, my fingers from the loop, and stood from the comfortable sofa I had enjoyed by myself.

"I'll give them back to you tomorrow then." I threw over my shoulder, preferring not to look at him. This human…

"You can have them. It's fine. Not like I can't buy anymore." I could feel his eyes on me and in another second I wasn't too sure if he would be alive so I left the room, hoping to never run into him again even though I knew it was a wasted wish seeing as how we lived in the home for the time being…

Once I made it up the stairs to the bedroom I shared with Hinata, who was still awake, I closed the door, pressing my back to it to try and calm my nerves. Hinata jumped to my side, asking me in her stuttering voice what had happened and if everything was alright. I didn't respond to her, choosing to find comfort in the way her hand ran through my hair shyly. Something was wrong with me… it wasn't anger I was feeling toward the human downstairs… not all of it anyway. I wanted to call it excitement, almost like when my mind raced when I hunted down that female deer – but different. That wasn't all though, for an unknown reason I felt … I don't know how to phase it but I any other time I would have been disgusted to have found out I had on the clothes of a human… but now. I don't know, I'm confused…

* * *

The sun was just starting to rise, giving the room a faint amount of light. A cool breeze made it possible for Hinata and me to burrow under the sheets. I was comfortable here, with her body warmth and the way her body rose and fell with her breathing. My face tucked into her shoulder blades and arms wrapped around her as the relaxing scent of the forest made its way through the town and into our bedroom. I was at peace I realized. I couldn't remember ever feeling like this a day before in my life.

I could hear a bit of movement downstairs, by the footsteps and scent I knew it was Hatake Kakashi. He was up early and there seemed to be someone else down there with him… Curiosity had me walking out the bedroom door leaving a sleeping Hinata behind.

Making sure my steps were silent I stood at the foot of the stairs, catching a familiar female and male's scent. I knew these humans; the female was that large breasted blonde from the hospital, Tsunade, and the male… I couldn't really remember him too much but I know it was when I first got into the town. I remember white hair, that's it.

"…Just keep an eye on all of them. I don't trust them at all." The humans were talking about us, I was sure of it. I had news for them, we didn't trust them either – at least I didn't. "Especially that Naruto… he looks too much like-"

"I know." Hatake Kakashi began speaking, cutting off the female and making me a little annoyed but to be honest they were all getting on my nerves.

This secret meeting under the same roof as us and so early in the morning; did they really think that we wouldn't hear? Or was it that they wanted us too? Maybe the three of them didn't trust us so much that they wanted us to know. Like some kind of bluff to show off their fake strength should we try anything funny. Well, even their god knew they would be no match for us. All humans could be compared to twigs and be snapped just as easily.

A grin tugged at the corners of my lips. I really needed to kill something soon… maybe I could go back into the forest later today and hunt a rabbit or something sense I was forbidden to hurt another human. That bastard, Shikamaru, what a kill-joy.

"What are you doing?"

I turned my head so fast I heard it crack (but I think it needed that). Uchiha Sasuke was standing behind me in nothing but white, soft looking pants. He's hair was ruffled, like he had just woke up but I knew I was one to talk. I was still in the jeans from yesterday and shirtless and hadn't combed my hair either. It wasn't his appearance anyway that mattered; I was just surprised he snuck up on me.

I wasn't too sure how to answer his question. No doubt he didn't trust us either but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to know this or not. This was a time when the 02 brunette was actually needed and of course he was no where in sight, most likely still in his got damn bed completely ignorant to what was going on downstairs. I tried to think this through, what would Shikamaru want me say… I just played it dumb again.

"I was going to get something to drink but I think Hatake Kakashi is talking to someone so I'll wait."

The fair skinned human in front of me glared down the stair case and muttered under his breath, "That fucking nosey old man." He walked away from me toward the bathroom and closed the door loudly, I guess for the humans on the lower level.

Whoever the "nosey old man" was obviously wasn't someone Uchiha Sasuke cared for, but I was starting to believe the male didn't care for much of anyone. It was odd that we were alike in that fashion.

_That_ I didn't care for.

I didn't want to be similar in personality or face with any human. Which brought me back to what that Tsunade female had said, who was it she thought I looked too much like?

I heard the water go on the bathroom and thought it best to return to my room before Uchiha Sasuke saw me at the stairs again. I couldn't give the same lie twice. My hand was on the knob when he came out; his eyes darker then they had been before. I wondered if his eyes changed color out of anger as well, maybe Shikamaru was wrong.

No, I noticed, before he was just waking up and his eyes were still tired. Now he was pissed for some unknown reason and I didn't really care enough to find out why. Even if it seemed to be pointed at me.

* * *

As much as I loved the soft chairs and beds in Hatake Kakashi's home nothing could beat the fresh smell of the forest. The way the soil moved with each step I took and the enticing way the animals fled from me like I was more wild then them, it was pure heaven. I couldn't harm the deer though, I remember Hatake Kakashi had asked for us to leave them be as they were vital to the town's life… or something along those lines. Their antlers or whatever was used for medicine and some crap. I wasn't really paying much attention, too busy looking away from Shikamaru's eyes that told me to do as I was told.

And to much sure I did, I suppose, Gaara was told to tag along with Hinata and I.

The red head didn't seem too pleased to have to baby-sit me but I didn't really care, I was having too much fun tormenting rabbits. The light colored ones were too obvious; I liked to chase the dark colored ones. The rabbits with brown or black fur that thought they had hidden themselves well until I snuck up on them and scared them shitless. I let out a small laugh as the four legged fur balls dashed across a clearing and under a bundle of bushes.

"Naruto, don't tease the wildlife…" I let out a small sigh; I couldn't do anything with Hinata around. She was so "pro-life" it was starting to get on my nerves… But then I remembered how quickly I would forget that small fact later when we were asleep and the next morning I would probably wake up with my face in her shoulder blades again. I was such a bastard. Finding shelter in her presence one minute and wishing she was gone the next. Even so the situation didn't make me grin any less. Besides, Hinata knew who I was by now just as I knew she was a mumbling female that often stuttered and turned red with embarrassment at the oddest times, loved all living things just as much as her tear glands like to over flow and this was only the beginning.

Actually she was the only one I knew so much about… I was in shadows when it came to Gaara. He seemed to know a little bit more about the human world than me, perhaps he had been on a mission or two back when we were still in our creator's hands. He didn't seem to mind killing things. If anything maybe it was an 01 thing. That's what we were made for. But also he seemed to have a dark side, something to hide – although it had nothing to do with the fact that we didn't really get along. The last thing I knew for sure was he wasn't much of a talker, he seemed content just watching, but who knew what was really going on his head.

I wasn't too sure where Shikamaru stood either. If I had to guess I would say he didn't like to kill something unless it was absolutely necessary. Maybe that's why he wanted to blend in with the humans so much. His smart brain was in overdrive trying to remembering all the things we were learning about. Maybe. Or maybe it had something to do with that flower scented Ino…

"… Do you guys know a female human named Ino?"

Hinata looked up from the flowers she had been picking; her pale eyes seemed to be hiding anger behind them. She stood quickly, tossing the flowers to the ground as she walked away from Gaara and me.

"She's no one…"

It had been the first time I had seen Hinata like this. So she could get angry, and she was upset with a human – or was it Shikamaru that had her in a bitter mood? I looked to the red head but he didn't seem to be paying attention, like always. I wanted to push her, see how far she would go until her kindhearted personality won because I doubted she changed for good.

"Well, I thought she was someone important seeing how Shikamaru knew her enough to relax around her."

"Naruto," Hinata had turned to face me again, her eyes misty and her arms wrapped around herself as if she needed to literally hold herself together. "Please, don't mention _her_."

I realized now that the 02 who always was there whenever I needed her was the one who needed comforting. I didn't hesitate but at the same time I didn't run to her side. I merely walked up to her and pulled her tear stained face into my chest like when we had been in the forest clearing when we first met Uchiha Sasuke. It seemed to give her comfort for a brief moment before embarrassment won over that.

"There are wolves over in that direction." It seemed like forever since I had last heard Gaara voice… I didn't really miss it. But wolves? I couldn't stop my curiosity for soaring. What did they look like, had I ever seen them before and just didn't know, were they as big as the deer had been? Excitement had me pulling Hinata with me as I looked in the area the red head had pointed in.

"Never saw them either?" he was making fun of me again and as much as I wanted to pull out both of his eyes and crush them in the dirt I couldn't help but stare at the beautiful doglike animals in front of me. Most of the pack seemed pretty medium sized, maybe coming a little bit over my hip with the top of their head. Strength could be seen in their build and old scents of blood told me they were hunters. They ranged in different shades of gray, some more or fully white to black. Their eyes were wonderful, liquid gold.

"Look, that one's pregnant." I heard Hinata whisper in awe. She so excited I could imagine her jumping and clapping her hands if we hadn't been trying to stay hidden. I wanted to see them in their natural state. But that didn't last for long.

Gaara had made his way into their fold, walking in as if he owned the place and the wolves just lowered their ears and gave him all the room he needed but didn't leave- almost like he was their leader.

"They're not going to do anything, they know we could kill them in a heartbeat." The only black one came up to me as Hinata and I went in closer. I could see it in his gorgeous eyes, Gaara was right. They were unsure but still treated us like family, like they did with the black one because he was truly the leader of the four legged animals. Almost like us with Shikamaru…

I took in his woodsy scent, smelling all the grass he laid in and all the trees he had rubbed on. The smells of the other wolves were on him too, but the one I felt the most was the gray female that was carrying pups. They were his offspring she carried in her belly proudly as Hinata greeted her shyly. Her amber eyes held stories I would never be able to understand; pride, grace, modesty, and trust were only a few of the emotions she let us see.

"She's still kind of in the beginning of her pregnancy." Hinata – who had sat on her knees to be face to face with the female – said as she ran her gentle fingers through the soft fur. I hadn't seen the 02 feel on the gray wolf's stomach at all and was at a lost for how Hinata could just tell but thought as she was a female she must know. It wasn't like I really cared about all that anyway. I just wanted to see the pups.

"She said they'll call us when its time… the pups won't be that long."

"What?" Gaara and I looked over to Hinata in confusion. I was pretty sure no one had talked. I let a small laugh escape me as I joked, "Are you hearing things?"

Hinata looked at me with a small smile, "No, it was her. I'm sure of it."

* * *

It was late, dark, and cool… and like the night before I chose to stay in the living room by myself while everyone else slept. Well, almost everyone. Uchiha Sasuke had never returned after leaving so early this morning. I shook my head for the third time, telling myself I didn't care as I turn the channel on the screen before me. I took in the noise and voices I heard, not paying any attention to the characters or the plot. It was just noise to keep my sharp ears busy so I wouldn't have to only hear everyone sleeping upstairs.

My eyes ignored the flashing lights from the screen and stared at some random corner of the room as my mind drifted. I couldn't get the wolves from earlier out of my head either and how much we seemed to be alike. Not to mention Hinata _talking_ to them. What did it mean…?

I scratched the back of my head, arched my back until I heard it crack wonderfully and was about to turn off the screen to go to bed until a scent entered my nose. What upset me more was the way excitement had my heart beat a little faster. I wasn't sure if it was because I wanted something to happen or not but in the end I waited.

Uchiha Sasuke opened the front door but didn't enter right away. He stood their where I could see him without knowing; a bag and jacket in one hand, a handful of pink hair in the other. He and whomever he was with were close – face to face, mouth against mouth. I could feel my lips tugging downward for reasons I was unsure of. I wondered who the damn female human was I had never seen before but had smelled on the fair skinned male slightly. I never thought much about it because her scent was nothing amazing…

After what seemed like forever they finally pulled apart, a faint blush decorating the female's cheeks and a glazed look in her eyes like she wanted something else.

"Go home, Sakura." I heard him mumble.

"Why can't I come in, huh? What is it you don't want me to see?" she pouted as her hands tugged on his white shirt, freeing them from his pants. Before she could remove them all he pushed her hands away. She let out an angry whine and stomped her foot. "Is it those strange new people Kakashi let stay here, is that why you haven't been seeing me? I heard a girl was in the group… tell the truth, do you think she's cuter than me?"

"Go home." He repeated, closing the door in her face. He might not have been able to hear but the female he called Sakura was still fuming outside, angry she wasn't able to get inside.

The raven haired human flicked the locks and turned around only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw me. We watched each other for a moment or two as we both just stood there like two idiots. I finally opened my mouth in confusion.

"What the hell was that?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Uchiha Sasuke walked further into the room and after throwing the items in his hand to the floor, sat on the sofa behind me. It was clear by his movements alone he was exhausted. When he didn't answer me and chose to close his eyes I thought he was going to fall asleep right here. I felt like I was being ignored.

"Stupid ass," I muttered, about to walk away. Suddenly his hand was around my wrist; his pathetic attempt at stopping me from moving any further. Little did he know I could drag him any which way I choose, however whatever had my heart beating faster told me to wait.

"She's a girl from my class," he started, removing his hand from me. "Always trying to get in my pants, you know?" I turned white in disgust, what the fuck was wrong with humans? He said that like it was normal. I ran my hand through my hair as I sat heavily on the sofa an arm's length from him, shaking my head.

"That sounds gross."

"…It was fine in the beginning but now she's getting on my nerves always following me…" He turned to look at me, expecting me to agree but all I could wonder was why any human would _want_ to do such I thing…

"Forgot it I don't even know why I'm telling you this anyway." I was the one that stopped him this time.

"Wait, why?" I truly wanted to know.

"Why what?" He suddenly sounded annoyed, his eyes looking at me as if I was brainless – kind of pissed me off a bit.

"Why would anyone want to get into your pants? What was that at the door?" I hissed out. These damn human's were so slow!

Something clicked in his head as realization became clear in his dark eyes. "You're a complete virgin…" he stated.

My eyes continued to stare at him as I seriously thought about breaking every bone in his face. "What are you talking-"

"Do you want me to show you?" He's eyes got darker, confidence seemed to go through the roof, and something in his scent changed that almost made me curious. But I was cautious. He was moving closer to me in a way that resembled my actions earlier with the rabbits. Like I was prey that had fallen right into a trap he had set from the very beginning.

"What are you going to do?"

His eyes flicked from my lips to my eyes, "What do you think?"

The closer he got the more I smelt that Sakura human and that upset me on levels I didn't care for. "What you did with that female at the door…"

He didn't answer me, only mumbled for me to close my eyes before he pressed his lips against mine. I didn't do as he said though, and I saw that even he kept his eyes open as he moved my mouth with his until I opened my jaw. I fought the urge to bite off his invading tongue, that wouldn't be very _human _of me if I did, and after a couple of minutes I realized I wasn't fighting at all…

One of his hands had found their way into my hair just as one of mine held his shoulder – to push him away, I told myself. My eyes had managed to close on their own somehow and my ears were taking in every noise our mouth's made. The labored breathes from my nose excited me more and as he pulled me closer to his body I felt all the heat rush to my head. I was losing it, I _had_ to gain control over myself again.

Then he pulled away, incredibly slow – even our lips didn't want to be separated I saw as clung together for a second longer.

My face was red, I could feel the heat remaining in my face as I continued to watch him stupidly and our breaths mixed in the small space between us. It was the first time a human took control like that and I _actually_ enjoyed it. I wondered if my eyes were clouded over like the female's had been before; what was it I wanted more of from this retarded male that made me feel new things? What was I waiting for?

It surely wasn't for him to grin and walk away, "That was a kiss."

* * *

TBC...

* * *

My first Naruto/Sasuke scene ^-^ Let me know if you liked it.


	8. Chapter 8

Subjects

CagedRaven

***  
Chapter 8

I let the warm water of the bath pool around my naked body in a steady rhythm. It was comforting and, if I tried really hard to ignore it, kind of blurred out the voices coming from downstairs. Turning off the water once the tub was filled I let my head fall back until it was completely submerged, until my ears could only make out a mummer from the conversation below, until my nasty mood drowned.

I didn't want to snap at Hinata again, I had felt my eyes burn to red and she seemed scared by that as it was pointed at her. That gave me no enjoyment. My anger had quickly turned into an apology and even though she accepted it she never looked me in the eye. I had left her and have been in the bathroom ever since. Maybe I was scared Shikamaru would find out. Maybe I was more nervous that Hinata would be scared of me for the rest of our lives. Perhaps it was neither but she had asked why I had never come to bed last night... and I didn't know how to tell her that I had stayed in the living room all night thinking about what Uchiha Sasuke had done to my lips. That was just stupid - I was stupid! I just threw anger at her simple question in hopes she would drop it but what I failed to remember was I didn't need to do that with Hinata. She would have just accepted it if I had said I didn't want to talk about it. Or better yet I should have just said I was downstairs...

I pulled my head out of the water for breath, running my hands over my face in a silly attempt tp remove the water from my blue eyes. It was then I heard a knock on the door and before I could say anything Shikamaru walked in. He didn't seem angry, just his annoyed usual self I noted as he closed the door and leaned against the sink across from me.

"What's going on with you this morning?" He asked in a bored tone, "Heard you weren't feeling well."

I pushed some hair that had fallen into my face out of the way; silently thanking whatever was on my side that Hinata didn't mention my snappy mood earlier. I didn't want Shikamaru to be pissed off with me again; lately he seems to have been more often.

"No, I'm alright - Just..." I trail off, not really having anything else to say.

"Well, don't forget you have to see that doctor today for a check up." I sighed heavily, letting my body sink back into the water as I mumbled my resentment. "And get out of the bathroom already, everyone's waiting to get in."

"Fine, fine!" I groaned, pulling myself out of the tub and catching the towel the 02 threw at me. He was walking to the door as he said over his shoulder,

"I'll ask Hinata to go with you to the hospital."

"No-" I almost bit my tongue off, "It's fine! I'll go by myself later." He turned to look at me in a funny way. "I mean, Hinata must be tired of babysitting me by now. I can handle it."

Brown eyes looked at me hard, "You sure you wont do anything stupid?"

"Promise." I almost snapped out - what, did he think I was five? I got it already. Act human, no matter how much I hated.

"Fine, but if you do anything just remember the next time I see your face I'll let Gaara peel off every last one of your claws, one by one - all ten of them. Hinata wont be there to save you either."

As the bathroom door closed behind him a shiver ran down my back. I bet he would do that too... I shook my head and just reminded myself to be the good little fake human the brunette wanted me to be and I would be alright as I reached for my clothes only to grab air. Confusion attacked me for a brief moment until I realized I hadn't taken any with me when I escaped the bedroom before. I huff as I opened the door and walked to my shared room in nothing but a small towel wrapped around my waist.

"Finally out." I turned to see the male human who had been on my mind all morning standing by the stairs behind me. I had smelled him, knew he was there but didn't think much of it. If he was going to pretend like nothing happened then I would out do him and pretend like i didn't even know he existed... or so was the plan. Once he spoke my body moved without my consent and whirled around to see his face. My heart did that annoying flip and I started to remember the kiss... I couldn't understand it.

I felt his dark eyes on me and once more felt like his prey. I wondered if he could hear my breathing like I could hear his. Was mine a little shallow like his? No, I realized, it wasn't shallow but I had a feeling it was only because I didn't know what else to expect but a kiss. Behind the pale humans eyes was a secret that I could tell he was going to take forever to tell me... if I didn't beat it out of him first that is. I grinned at the thought and continued into the bedroom, leaving him standing there.

***

Humans had to be the most unnecessary species in the animal kingdom. What was the point of them barging about their brains and such if they remained retarded? The only thing they seemed to master was looking younger for a longer amount of time; this female human in front of me was proof of that. My face showed all the shock I couldn't hide when I found out she was in her fifties.

"Everything seems to be running smoothly..." She concluded, tapping her pen on the desk she had just sat behind. I sighed in happiness as I pulled my black shirt back over my head and zipped my sweater up. It was finally over, the inside of my cheek would be happy. I had bit down on it hard enough over the last half hour to prevent myself from growling whenever she touched me.

"I can go then?"

"Do you have any questions?"

"Not really." I mumbled, walking closer to the door.

"Then I guess you can go," She said in this tone that made me feel like I was being scolded. I wanted to punch her in the gut so hard that it went straight through her and blood would run out her nose and mouth...

"See me in a couple of weeks."

I was ripped from my thoughts, "Why? You side yourself I was fine-"

"Do you know how close you were to death? Not only that but you left the hospital earlier than I would have liked; it's just a precaution. See me in a couple weeks." she repeated.

"Whatever." I slammed the door behind me, wincing when the knob fell to the floor heavily. I had even tried to be gentle...

I just ignored it, as well as the looks of the humans faces as I walked to the stairs. I needed to get out of this place, away from these humans as fast as possible. I thought of the forest but didn't want to run into the wolves either, I just needed time to myself.

No matter how I looked at it the tall trees of the forest was my only opinion as humans rarely seemed to go there - excluding Uchiha Sasuke and his buddies.

Pushing any and all thoughts of the pale human out of my head I made my way toward the towns edge, where the forest began. The familiar scent of fear entered my nose as many of the animals within knew I was getting close. The thought of hunting them down and devouring them one by one made a chill of excitement run up my side. I needed this, the rush of acting like the man-made monster that I am instead of eating at a table with utensils and meat fully cooked.

I remembered what Shikamaru had said when I ate the deer meat, why I had thrown it all back up. But the feeling of it going down my throat raw and with all that blood... nothing could compare to it. I needed it badly now, I needed to feel alive. Since Hinata wasn't around today I could have my fill.

***

My tongue felt thick, bile played at the back of my throat and smells from the town made it that much harder for me to keep down the random animals that had been my lunch. I licked the blood off my thumb as I walked in-between the trees, a limp bird in my other hand swinging with each of my steps. I couldn't decide if I should eat it or not seeing how my stomach was already acting up.

"What the hell?" I grinned, ripping off its wings and popping them into my mouth. The nasty feathers had gotten in the way but after I spat them out everything was fine and I continued to enjoy the flavor of fresh meat. I opened my mouth, ready to take in the rest of it but stopped when a scent hit my nose. He was miles away; that was good... I didn't know how Hatake Kakashi would take me chewing on a bird.

Without a second thought I swallowed it whole and licked off the blood decorating my face. I could feel my eyes had turned into that shade of red they weren't suppose to be but there wasn't really much I could do but try to force myself to calm down from my high. It didn't help that I didn't really want to.

I sighed, "I'll just avoid him." Walking in the opposite direction.

After a mile or so I was sure the human wouldn't catch up to me so quickly in his car. I felt my stomach flip in a menacing way but pushed the feeling to the back of my mind, concentrating more on calming down for the sake of my eyes. I wasn't in the mood to listen to Shikamaru and the same old conversation.

The burning was slowly beginning to ebb, and thank goodness. It seemed another human had decided to prove me wrong and enter the forest. A loud groan slipped through my lips as I recognized this scent as well. I could have out run her but I was just being lazy. So when the pink haired female ran into me it only came as a surprise to her.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see you there." She breathed out, holding her hands out to me in a silent question about my well being.

"It's fine, you couldn't hurt me even if you wanted to." I replied lifelessly.

She glared at me with her striking green eyes, "I was just trying to be nice-" Something seemed to click in her head as she looked at me fully from head to toe. "You're one of the new people in town..."

I through a wide grin at her, noticing how her complexion turned a lighter shade when she saw my teeth were blood stained. "Sure am, Sakura."

I couldn't help laughing my ass off as she ran away from me with tears brimming her eyes as her name fall off my tongue.

"Life is sweet."

***

"Naruto-"

"O h, come on - really?" I started to complain as I had just walked through the front door. "Do you know how many rumors are going around about ur?" I through at Shikamaru as I continued to play dumb about earlier.

"What are you talking about?" The 02 walked into the hall were I stood, removing my shoes. I looked into his face, sure he would have heard about it before I got back since humans liked to get the word out fast.

"What are you talking about?" I replied.

Shikamaru shook his head, "I was only going to tell you Hinata is out with Hatake Kakashi and Gaara went off somewhere, I'm going for a walk."

I paused, "She's alone with him? What are they doing?"

He shrugged, "Something about collecting antlers, didn't really listen."

I glared at him, letting Hinata go off by herself with that human was just silly. I shouldn't have gone the other way when I smelt him in the forest.

"And where are you going?" I asked, making my way into the kitchen for a glass of water. My stomach was still trying to free its contents.

"Just a walk... What were you saying before? Something about-"

"Rumors," I cut in, almost choking on my water.

"Yeah, what about that?"

"I..." I had to think fast, "On my way out of the human's office I heard a lot of things about us that just kind of pissed me off." I finished lamely, taking another large gulp.

"Ah, well were unsettling to them." He turned away from me and missed me looking up at the ceiling and thank whoever or whatever was listening. "I'll see you later, Naruto. And don't do anything stupid."

I flipped him off, "I know the drill already, just go."

The door closed lightly behind him and a slow smile curled my lips. I was alone again. But the first thing that needed to go was the raw meat in my gut. I stuck my finger down my throat, letting the nasty mixture come up as it pleased into the kitchen sink. A few more times of that and my system was relived. I almost puked again, no finger needed, when I saw a small eye ball rolling around in my mess.

"Ugh, the bad thing about eating raw things..."

I drank another glass of water down as I pondered how to clean this up. Perhaps emptying my stomach into the sink wasn't the best of my ideas. I grabbed the garbage can and prepared myself for this. I was just about to stick my hands down into it when the door open again. It wasn't Shiakmaru or Gaara. After a moment or two dark eyes met mine and his face changed into pity, how I hated it.

He made his way over to me, paying attention to my face, which I was sure was twisted into something.

Uchiha Sasuke was too close, I could feel his body heat as I suddenly grabbed the eye right behind me, putting it in my pocket as a shiver of disgust run through me.

"Sick?"

I didn't know how I was going to get out of this one.

***

TBC...

***


	9. Chapter 9

**Subjects**

* * *

_CagedRaven_

**AN:** I really need to apologize for not updating any of my stories. I lost all my files and then my computer just died on me soon after TT ~ TT I'm still without one and am using my sisters for the time being. Thanks a bunch sis~

As this is the case it may take a while for me to update my stories. Please bear with me. But anywho, on with the story right ^-^ Please enjoy and _review_.

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

I didn't know how I was going to get out of this one. I tired to listen to my gut, its small voice in the back of my head whispering for me to get as far away from this human as possible. He always seemed to cause my brain to fog over… it was beyond annoying. The small sound of pity in his voice made me want to ripe out his vocal cords.

Instead I simply nodded, letting the idiot believe whatever he wanted as I grabbed my glass of water and took a large gulp. I watched his face over the rim, his dark eyes were looking into my blue and after a second I squared my shoulders waiting for a fight or something. Was he looking down on me or was it just our height difference? I couldn't tell, but it didn't matter. No sooner that I had moved the human looked away. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, preventing a growl of frustration from escaping me. I wished he would just leave already…

The glass in my hand threatened to shatter under my rough hold when his gazed returned. "What?" I snapped at him.

I could feel his eyes moving over my face, like he was searching for my weakness or some shit before he took the glass from my fingers and filled it with something from the large container Hatake Kakashi had called a fridge. Completely missing the way I had wanted to kill him a moment ago.

"Drink this instead of water. It's better for you." He muttered under his breath, pushing the glass back into my hands as he continued out the room. I looked from the last place the pale human was standing to the blue tinted liquid in the glass he had given me. It smelt sweet but not _too_ sweet it the other drink I had tried here. I tasted a sip with a reluctant shrug. With a sound of disgust I quickly pulled away from it, rubbing roughly at my lips as if that would remove the taste from my mouth.

"I never said it was good." I heard him laugh as he returned to the kitchen, a white bucket in hand and cleaning supplies in the other. I just shot him a scowl, silently refusing to drink the shit as I place the glass in the counter top.

He rudely offered me the objects with a smirk on his face – making me want to run my claws through it… _badly_. The beautiful idea was so tempting but then I would have to deal Shikamaru, right after he told me to 'behave'. I let out an annoyed huff of air as I ripped the bucket from Uchiha Sasuke's hand. I sneered at him when his face still looked amused, making my way back over to the sink.

I groaned mentally. How was I supposed to fucking clean this anyway? I forced myself to try and think of something and I couldn't forget the eye ball still sitting in my back pocket. The thought of it combined with the smell of my own vomit almost had me throwing up whatever was left. I cursed myself to hell. I felt so weak at the moment and the human in the room wasn't helping any. Just knowing his eyes were on me like he was waiting for me to screw up… Maybe he wasn't thinking anything. I bit hard on my tongue, tasting my own blood; these humans must be getting to me. Making me weak.

His dark eyes were still focused on me, but the air in the room told me he was hesitating – for what, I really didn't care. I glanced over my shoulder, catching his eyes move up my body until they met my blue ones. Something filled them that was _not_ hesitation. It was like liquid heat, reminding me of the kiss we had shared that night in the living room. I could feel my body slowly react to it… waiting.

I faced foreword again, telling myself I was acting stupid. To just ignore the human behind me and get the cleaning over with and pushed this feeling away from me.

* * *

Alone in the bedroom I shared, I tried my hardest to keep my thoughts as empty as possible. But I was failing. I couldn't help wonder where Hinata was. It had been about two hours since Shikamaru had left; informing me she had gone into the forest with Hatake Kakashi. Even the 02 male was still out on his walk … I didn't even know wha the hell Gaara was up to - just whatever he was doing it wasn't here.

That left me by myself with Uchiha Sasuke. The pale human wasn't even enjoyable company. No matter how much I slipped up he never batted his eyelashes. So before I growled again or broke another piece of silver ware I left him downstairs, choosing to lay across the bed and stare up the ceiling.

I glared into the darkness; it felt like I was running away from the weakling. Worse of all he thought I _was_ weak, being sick and all. Though that was my fault as well… If I had just listened to Shikamaru to begin with instead of eating everything raw I wouldn't have been throwing it up. The pale human would never have walked in on anything. End of story.

I slapped my forehead, hard. I didn't remember turning off my brain but maybe the hit would turn it back on. "Damn, I'm such an idiot."

I rolled onto my side, closing my eyes and willed sleep to take me fast. Without Hinata's body heat, however, sleep never came. The female didn't even have a scent to leave behind for me. I felt more alone then ever…

My glare deepened; I was becoming so pathetic. Relying on someone else just to fall asleep. With that thought I jumped out of bed and was about to leave Hatake Kakashi's house through the window when I heard the front door open and close shortly after. I knew right away it wasn't Gaara or the older human. My eyes focused on nothing as my ears opened, being pulled to any and every noise I heard on the level below.

"Shikamaru," I thought aloud, hearing his voice as he answered Uchiha Sasuke's statement about me being sick. Great now he was going to come in here and smell all the blood I forgot to wash off completely. I took in a breath as I prepared myself for another scolding, hearing his footsteps climb the stairs.

"Yeah?" I answered his knock apathetically. I sat on the edge of the bed as the opened and my brows pulled together, my nose wrinkled. Shikamaru walked inside, closing the door lightly behind himself. He had the same face as always but this time I could mirror it back at him. It felt like we stood there in the darkness of the room before the silence was broken by him.

"You smell like blood."

"You smell like _something_ yourself." I through right back, a growl lacing my words. At the sound of it Shikamaru removed his back from the door and moved closer to me, his indifferent attitude gone.

"I thought I told you _not_ to do anything stupid," He said to me in a serious tone, changing the topic. "Eating animals in the forest and vomiting it back up in the kitchen is the stupidest thing you've ever … _so far_."

Calling myself an idiot was one thing, hearing it come from another's mouth was enough to make me want to stab each nerve in their feet. I hotly at him, looking him straight in his brown eyes as my fingers fisted the sheets. He felt like a giant standing over me again, making me feel like I was backed into a corner. Standing suddenly to give myself more height, I brushed off my uneasiness as I felt my eyes tingle. Throwing my anger at him.

"Look who the fuck is talking! What's the point in telling me what to do and what not to do if you don't follow it yourself? Coming back from your _'walk' _smelling like that human bitch!"

His grip was tight around my throat, it was hard to breathe and I could hear a deep snarl coming from his chest out of his lips. I could feel his fingers trace the scar on the back of my neck; a silent reminder the 02 was in charge no matter where we were.

"You need to start thinking before to speak," his voice was low and steady, like most of his anger had been successfully bottled up but my hands still gripped at his. My claws setting little trails of blood free on his knuckles. "Now calm the hell down."

His fist tightened an inch more; I knew when to call it quits. I looked away from his face, letting my hands fall to my sides and hoped my eyes stopped burning sometime soon. He slowly released me, allowing oxygen into my lungs and ignored me as my teeth bit the inside of my cheek. I wanted so badly to fight him, kick him off this invisible thrown he lived on and leave him in a bloody heap flesh. Maybe even feed him to the wolves in the forest just for good measure. But I knew I wouldn't – couldn't. Something always stopped me just like it did right now when I was yelling at him. Whether it was because of his brain size or just because he was a 02 I would never know. Hell, maybe I wasn't even close with my guesses.

"Sorry…" I apologized lamely, my attention still glued to the floor. I wish Hinata was here. Or maybe Gaara. He might have done something more retarded and taken all the pressure away from me.

Shikamru didn't respond, his eyes still watching me like I was a ticking time bomb he didn't know how to fix.

"I'm going to take a shower." His indifference returned in the blink of an eye, telling me _this_ was over. I sat heavily on the edge of the bed again, taking a chance to look at him before moving my gaze back to the floor. I heard him move towards the door and paused to tell me to take one as well when he was done. "So Hinata doesn't smell the blood when she returns."

The brunette was still standing there, his grip tight on the wooden doorframe and with his back to me I thought it safe to look at him. Shikamaru sighed letting his shoulders fall. "Who knows, I might have been the troublesome one tonight." He through a weak smile over his shoulder, letting the door close behind him and left me to my thoughts.

What had he meant? The 02 seemed to have his emotions all over the place but I was one to talk. It was just odd for Shikamaru to be acting this way. It had to be the first time Shikamaru called himself an idiot, I laughed but didn't know why. Whatever the change was had all started with that blonde female human, Ino. The one that smelled of freshly cut flowers.

* * *

My eyes rolled over to Hinata as she bent down to pick up the pieces to the glass she just broke. Her stuttering apology to the older male human was easily brushed off with a kind smile. It was enough to boil my blood. Was Hinata getting close to a human like Shikamaru had? I glared some more at the two before standing up from the kitchen table, my chair sliding against the floor roughly causing all eyes to fall on me as I walked out the room.

"Jealous?"

I hadn't spoken to Gaara since the three of us saw the pack of wolves in the forest and even then it was, what? Two sentences – three tops. His voice was still enough to through me over the edge but I bit the inside of my mouth (damn was it getting sore) to stop myself from doing anything stupid. I had already pressed my luck with Shikamaru last night and I still had yet to fully talk to Hinata since yesterday morning.

I pushed past him, letting my shoulder hit his as I through back at him, "Fuck off."

He moved fast, too fast. I knew it was coming but my body didn't move fast enough. The sound of his solid fist hitting the side of my skull seemed to echo throughout the house, it actually _did_ because I heard Hatake Kakashi ask Hinata about a noise. I was just happy it wasn't my neck. My eyes started to burn as I stared into his own, my tongue licking the trail of blood coming from my wound. His claws must have sliced my skin or something I thought, letting a snarl sound in the air as I threw my arm out and my claws extended. How I wanted to dig them deeply into his flesh and draw out his crimson blood. The bastard moved to the left only allowing me to catch the sleeve of his shirt. I moved after him, going around the large furniture to move in for the kill.

A gentle but firm hand placed itself over my eyes, taking my sight away from me suddenly and leaving me frozen. I let my arms fall to my sides as nervousness etched itself through my body. I knew it was Shikamaru… I had a feeling he was pissed… what I didn't know was what he going to do next.

With his hands so close to my throat, I felt open – unprotected. He could do anything to me right now and I had little to defend myself with. I swallowed hard, stilled myself further when I felt his other hand touch my bleeding temple.

"Naruto…" Hinata breathed out, the fear was obvious in her voice. I could just imagine her body shaking slightly with terror, her eyes darting back and forth between us three. But if she was here that meant Hatake Kakashi most likely was too. Great.

"Gaara," Shikamaru's voice cut through the tension, "I'll meet you outside in a minute." Without a word the red head moved out of the room until I heard the front door open and close lightly.

"And you, I know you _probably_ started this, you moron." He said lightly, making me wonder if I was free. I felt him shift, his warm breath on my ear as he told me secretly that my eyes were in the middle of changing. The silver haired human was still standing by Hinata, I wondered to myself if he could hear us.

"Calm down." He finished, letting go of me and pushing me into the female 02's arms. I almost forgot how comforting Hinata could be; her gentle hands nervously checking me over as she stuttered questions about my well being. I smiled into her embrace, ignoring the human as he asked what happened and stopped myself from an inhuman snarl when I felt him move my blonde hair to see my wound – though a growl did slip out. He didn't react, either the older male didn't hear it or just simply dismissed it. I hated to think he had grown used to our behavior.

"It doesn't look to deep, hopefully you won't need stitches." Hinata adjusted her hold on me, looking at the cut herself. "I'll get the first aid box."

His feet lead him away from us and when he was gone Hinata moved me to the empty sofa. "What happened?" She whispered.

"Gaara has issues."

"Not the fight… I mean… in the kitchen. You were mad." I had almost forgotten about that - Gaara was a great distraction. Now that I remembered I didn't want to talk about it. If Hinata was really getting close to Hatake Kakashi and I confronted it… the point was she was already weak minded. If she felt like she could talk and travel into the forest with him then fine. I didn't care. Or so I told myself…

"What were you guys doing in the forest yesterday?" I met her pale eyes, letting her that, yes, I was a little jealous and anger with her. She blushed and looked away from me, playing with her fingers as she thought about who knows what.

"He was showing me how he took care of the deer, there were so many of them… it took almost all day."

"That's all?" I asked, taking in the air around her. She held hints of the woodsy scent from the forest, the deer, and yes the human's was there as well. But I knew it was different. This scent wasn't like how the female's scent covered Shikamaru. This was from a long day in his company.

"Yes." She looked back at me, barely hidden curiosity flashing over her face.

"Good," I smiled, taking her hand in mine to give it a small squeeze. Her whole face burned and I tried hard to hide my laughter as Hatake Kakashi walked back into the room with a white box. He looked at me for a moment, my smile gone, before handing it to Hinata. She thanked him and addressed my still bleeding wound, the pink in her cheeks still visible but something had been taken from her eyes and was replaced by worry. I wanted to ask her but I knew right now wasn't the best time. The human was still near us.

"Where's Uchiha Sasuke?" I asked, looking over at the silver haired human. His one eye focused on me instead of what Hinata was doing.

He cracked his knuckles, one at a time as he spoke. "He goes to school during the day. Comes here whenever he wants to."

I looked away from him as I winced when Hinata pressed a cold gauze to my temple, she apologized but I ignored her. "School?"

He raised one brow, his full attention on me now. "Yes, school. A place to learn everyday things like math, reading, science and whatever else they teach them nowadays… Is it called something else were your from?"

Hinata pressed the gauze tighter against head before I could answer causing me to wince again, I shot her a glare.

"We called it academy… but it's the… the same thing," She swallowed, looking over her shoulder to the man. "Right?"

Hinata was a bad lair. I could tell right away, even if I didn't know the truth, that she was lying. What made me pissed off was that I didn't know why she felt the need to lie. But besides that she could have just looked at me or told me to shut up instead of trying to give me a headache.

Hatake Kakashi nodded, agreeing with her as he ran his thumb over his other fingers, walking out of the room. Once his back rounded the corner into the kitchen I scowled at the 02.

"I'm sorry…" She stuttered, pulling the white mesh away. There wasn't that much blood on it so I knew it was healing just let I knew it would. "I didn't know what you would say and… I acted without thinking…"

"It's fine, don't worry." I sighed; taking the clean gauze she opened and pressed it to my head. "_Why_ did you stop me?"

She looked at me in a way I knew it was important, the very thing she had wanted to tell me before but the human was in the room. She looked over to the doorway once more before facing me again. "I think he's on to us…" She whispered. "The little things… like our fighting… the growls and stuff…the way we interact with each other… he told me in the forest it was odd… And he's been watching us more closely lately… I'm not sure…I…I need to speak with Shikamaru."

I took this all in, a little surprised that it seemed she was more suspicious then I thought. I heard the human walking our way with Shikamaru and Gaara behind him. "Well, when you do ask, him when were leaving this fucking place." I grinned at her disapproval of my langue.

Their eyes met from across the room and Shikamaru nodded before telling the human he was going upstairs. As always I was amazed at how the 02's seemed to understand each other with just a glance.

Hinata excused herself soon afterward, leaving me alone with Gaara again. I didn't think this was the smartest idea but if Shikamaru thought it was fine then who was I to say other wise. Hatake Kakashi seemed to be on the same page as me and eyed us for a couple of moments only leaving when a ringing sound filled the house. No sooner then he left had the ringing stopped and I heard him talking. Maybe to himself – I didn't care.

I looked at the red head, his green eyes looking over to a wall before rolling over to me. His arms crossed over his chest, as always. I stood, taking most of the height disadvantage away from him but I was still shorter then him. Damn bastard. He turned away from me, walking slowly to the staircase that led up to our rooms before stopping and looking over his shoulder at me.

"You won't always have an 02 to hide behind."

"I wasn't hiding." I growled, clutching my fist. "You just be ready to get your ass handed to you." He ignored me, moving one foot at a time up the steps until he was gone from my view all together. I flipped him off, hoping he felt my anger all the way up there. Oh, I'd make sure Gaara would get his.

* * *

It was late, the sun had just set and Hatake Kakashi had left after his 'phone call' to go into the forest. Meaning we had the house to ourselves since Uchiha Sasuke was never around. However, he seemed to always come back later in the day and I hated to admit it but it felt like I was waiting for him. I bit my lip, telling myself I wasn't, that I just wanted to watch TV… but I didn't believe myself.

My attention was quickly switched to the front door was I heard it open knowing as soon as the scent hit me it was the pale human. But he wasn't alone. It was that Sakura human again, the one with the pink hair. The one I had scared in the forest when she ran into me eating birds. I listened to her telling him to stay away from us, me in particular.

"Stop following me home, Sakura." I guess he wasn't listening to her, which was fine by me. I didn't need another story floating around about me. Shikamaru would surely behead me.

"I'm telling you what I saw! Their going to kill you, Sasuke…" I could taste her tears from here. It made me think of what she would look like running away from me as I hunted her down and made her beg for her life. My mouth watered. Before I could get too lost in the idea I pushed it away from myself mentally, determined to not give the male 02 anything else to hang me with.

I heard the door close, the pink haired female crying softly on the other side of it as Uchiha Sasuke walked into the living room. He looked at me as I met his eyes straight on. His eyes had moved over me like they had yesterday, that same heat pooling in his dark gaze.

"This seems familiar." He muttered, letting his bag fall to the floor before as he moved closer to me. "Feeling better?"

"Are you going to _kiss_ me again?" He was standing so close now, leaning over the couch arm and only a couple inches away from me. Why was my heart beating so fast; it was driving me crazy.

"Only if you're feeling better." His lips moved into a smirk as his eyes watched my every move.

"I'm feeling better-" The words had slipped past my lips so fast I didn't even know they were coming from me until I heard my voice.

His mouth pressed against mine swiftly, taking advantage of my words and filled my mouth with his tongue. I closed my blue eyes as my teeth grazed it but I stopped myself from making him bleed – barely, and moaned. He swallowed it, pushing foreword and forcing me to tilt back so he could have better excess to my mouth. Before I knew it my back was touching the surface of the sofa and he was over me, his weight on his forearms so not to crush me. He didn't know it wouldn't.

He pulled away, worrying my bottom lip in between his teeth as I caught my breath and tried to steady my frantic heart. It was a losing battle. I looked up at him as my lip was freed, licking the spot as I wondered what happened next. Was he going to leave me like he did last time we kissed?

"That was different then the last time." I stated lamely, swallowing before I took another breath.

He let out an airy chuckle looking away from my face for a second before looking back at me. "I bet it was,"

His voice was deeper, rougher. A scent I didn't remember smelling last time was coating him and soon I realized me too. It was heavy, or made my body feel heavy and hot. The scent it… well, it was hard to describe; I had never smelt something close to it before.

"I liked it."

"If you think that was good, wait till I get all your clothes off." I shot him a look that vanished not even a second later when his hip grinded into mine. My eyes snapped shut; a groan worked its way out of my throat.

"Shit! What the hell was that?" I cursed, biting my lip as he moved again. My fingers dug into the sofa, my claws threatening to rip it to pieces. "Stop that!"

He looked at me confused but did as he was told. I pushed him off of myself, calling myself a jackass for even letting him crawl on top to begin with. I got off the cushioned chair, and willed my jelly legs to move me away from the pale human. I had no idea what the hell he was doing to me but I sure as hell didn't like it.

"…I'm going to bed." I looked away from the human making my way to the stairs and he took my wrist in his hand.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, clearly upset I had wanted to get away from him.

"You're what's wrong with me." I pushed him back down on the sofa, ignoring his wide eyes that my small body could be that strong. He didn't know the half of it.

"What's the problem?"

I whipped my eyes to the doorway, where Hatake Kakashi stood. I hadn't heard the door open or smelled him come in and I didn't like that at all. I was right, this human was making me lose my mind.

His lone eye watched us both, waiting for one of us to answer the question. Uchiha Sasuke let out a huff of air, throwing his head back as he looked up at the ceiling. A sure sign that whatever had almost happened was over to him. He might not have known it but it was over when I got up about two minutes ago.

"I'm going to bed." I repeated, leaving the human's to deal with each other. I didn't want to face Hatake Kakashi right now, I wasn't in the mood (but when was I?). I felt exposed with my heated face and swollen lips, like the older human would know everything in a matter of moments - and for all I knew, he did. Seeing as I wasn't too sure what was going on with my own body, I didn't want him to be the first to know.

* * *

TBC...


	10. Chapter 10

**Subjects**

* * *

_CagedRaven_

_**A/N:**_ I wrote a Naruto/Sasuke oneshot for anyone who can't wait for the yaoi XD

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

I was tired of not understanding anything, from the humans to our group. Everyone seemed to like to talk in riddles or empty sentences. Why couldn't they just be straight forward? I ran a hand through my hair roughly, pulling out a few of the strands in the process. My three companions stopped conversing and looked in my direction.

"Why don't I repeat it since you don't get it?" Shikamaru sighed.

"You don't have to, just tell what you want me to do. All the other information will just make my head explode." Sarcasm coated my words heavily as I ignored the little wolf at my feet and fell back onto the bed.

"Glad you said it for us." Gaara's voice was becoming a trigger for me. At the sound of it I was loaded and ready to fire. A snarl ripped through me as I pushed up from the sheets, my face in his.

"I've seriously reached my limit with you!"

"Naruto!" I looked at Hinata who was sitting on the floor with the four wolf pups in her lap, all of them looking for safety from me. "Please…"

Her voice was still small and shaky but there was something new behind it that was hard to identify. When I had talked about it before with Shikamaru he had called it purpose. Those wolf pups were hers to protect now - even if that meant from the rest of us. It kind of hurt to know she didn't feel one hundred percent safe around me with the wolves. I couldn't be that bad though seeing as how we had all been sleeping in the same room.

"I said that you were going to have to baby-sit." He pointed to the pups and ignored my whine. "But maybe you should run off some steam first. I'll go with you."

"Why do I have to watch them?"

Shikamaru sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose and letting me see that he was clearly annoyed. "Hinata's going to be busy with that doctor tomorrow, Tsunade. Be our eyes and ears. I'm going to be with Hatake Kakashi which means going into the forest. And Gaara's seeing if there are any other wolf packs we can drop them off to, which leaves you to watch-"

"To baby-sit, I get it." I glanced over to Hinata, watching her rub one of the pups behind the ear. "But why are we looking for another pack? I thought we were keeping them…" The female 02 had grown attached.

"We won't be able to move how we want if we leave with wolf pups in our group."

I nodded, comprehending that. However, from the way Hinata looked at the pups I didn't think she liked the idea. I look back at the brunette, "And when exactly are we leaving? It's already been over a month. I'm surprised not one human found us out yet… maybe."

"I'm just waiting for the right moment, Naruto."

My blue eyes rolled as I walked over to the window, opening it fully. I doubted that was really the reason. An 02 wouldn't need a week to leave without a trace let alone over a month. We should never have stayed here after I was healed.

"Ready?" I asked, already stepping on the sill. He nodded, pushing himself up from his chair and without a second look to the other two we were off.

* * *

To my surprise Shikamaru had let me go after whatever animal I wanted. Excluding the dear of course. Didn't want to end up like the wolf pack I had met before in the forest. Hunted down by humans for being just what they were. What I was - a hunter, born to love the chase and the mouthwatering bloody end.

The brunette slapped the back of my head, taking away the bird I was about to consume whole.

"What was that for?" I hissed, holding the sore spot with both hands.

"I told you a million times not to eat things raw, cook it then eat it." He was still walking away from me and soon I forgot about my head, following him close behind. "And to be honest, I'm sick of smelling your vomit."

I grinned, "Is that why you came with me?"

His dark eyes met mine before he shook his head, picking up another stick for our fire. "No, I needed to talk to you."

"About Gaara?" I almost snapped.

"Yes and no."

I felt uneasy. "What else then?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Fuck, had the 02 noticed my odd behavior around the pale human? I tired really hard not to make it obvious but I guess by now I should have known nothing slipped passed him. Taking in a deep breath I poked the fire he had just made with a random stick, readying myself for whatever speech he had planned.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Naruto," I looked at him, biting the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from saying something stupid. "Just give him a chance."

"Like you gave that female human one?" So much for not saying something stupid. Shikamaru sighed, rolling his shoulders before laying his back on the ground, face pointed to the tree covered sky.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't feel like going through all the details- probably wont help you anyway, but bottom line is it was something I'll never forget. At least talk to him, it's been a month now."

I was confused but just shrugged my shoulders. The last time I spoke to Uchiha Sasuke I felt weird. I didn't think I was ready for that again. Actually, I knew I wasn't ready. The memory alone of him over me as we kissed was hard enough to push out of my thoughts. I didn't need new ones distracting me. I needed to change the subject.

"And what about Gaara?"

Shikamaru moved his hands under his head, watching me out of the corner of his eye before closing them with a sigh. "Just leave him alone."

"He's the one always starting everything! Why do you always pull me aside and have this same conversation?" I growled, throwing my stick completely into the flames as I grabbed my cooked bird. It had to be done by now.

"Gaara's a special case. Hard to understand. But for your own good, ignore him." The 02 was watching me again as I ate the animal. I took a mouthful of meat so I was busy chewing it to pieces but I couldn't stop my eyes from rolling. That had been the answer to all my problems lately: ignore it. When would Shikamaru get that I couldn't ignore shit. When something got under my skin it always hit one nerve or another.

"How do you know so much about him?" I asked around the meat.

He sat up quickly, taking me off guard , facing me fully as a serious expression overtook his face. "I'm only going to tell you once so listen good." I nodded repeatedly, swallowing my food and forgetting about the rest of it. "Gaara has a history of losing himself. Not being able to tell the difference between the enemy and his comrades." He paused, looking at me as if I was unable to keep up already.

"And?" I scowled, knowing there had to be more to the story.

"Remember back when we first met, I said you had cracked?" I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek. "I've seen it happen to class 01's; Gaara was the first time I'd seen it happen. I wasn't on the mission with him but he was sent with three others and the 02 leader. He killed everyone."

I was shocked to say the lest but it being Gaara I could believe it. "You're scared he wouldn't stop at me if we fought and he _actually _won?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "I _know _he wouldn't stop. More then that, I don't want or need you to fall into the same category."

"I wouldn't..." I muttered, a little unsure. Shikamaru must have heard it but didn't say anything, only shrugged.

"Never know, but you have to fight it. Class 01s were designed to be blood thirsty up to a point. Killing their own team is considered to be unforgivable and labeled as a failure."

It felt like he was trying to implant that idea into my head but Shikamaru didn't have to worry, I had no intentions to kill anyone in our group. I only wanted to beat the shit out of the red head's face. "If Gaara is such a problem why not just kill him?"

"I'm giving him the second chance our makers didn't."

That did it - now I really did feel like an asshole. The 02 was trying to help Gaara and every time we had a little fight I was throwing him back at square one. "Sorry."

"Finish your bird," Shikamaru sighed, lowering himself onto the earth again with his eyes closed. "We'll run for another hour and then head back."

I stuffed the bird into my mouth, taking my time chewing it. It was dry but I bet it tasted better then the foot that's been in my mouth all day.

* * *

I woke up to the sensation of something wet running up my cheek. Sinking my face deeper into the pillow, I rolled onto my stomach as I muttered under my breath, "Five more minutes." A multiply of high pitched whines entered my ears as little feet moved across my back.

"Knock it off." I let a huff of air out, raising my head only to come face to face with a pair of big blue eyes. It looked like it was going to cry again…

"All right, I get it, your hungry!" I rolled out the bed, looking at the little beast as they came over to the edge of it. Hinata was no where to be found so I guess it was my turn. Great… I wanted to smack myself for forgetting everyone would be busy today.

Grabbing two in one arm and the last two in the other I pushed open the door with my back, making my way down stairs into the kitchen. I hoped I wouldn't walked right into the pale human I've been avoiding but from what I could smell it seemed like I was all alone for the time being.

Setting the pups free, I could feel my jaw crack as I yawned and I walked over to the fridge to get out their milk, warming it up. Supposedly it was just as notorious as their mother's milk. I couldn't even remember where we had gotten it from but it sure did say that on the bottle. They ate it and were happy, which made Hinata happy, which made me just as happy.

Believing the milk to be hot enough by now, I tested it on my skin like Hinata told me too. Somehow, whenever I saw the 02 flipped the bottle over her wrist pouring a few drops onto her skin it looked natural for her. I, on the other hand, looked like a confused idiot. Scowling at myself I poured the white liquid into a bowl and placed it on the floor where the pups attacked it.

Getting myself a glass of water and some cold meat from the fridge that tasted slightly sweet, I sat on the floor with them. Watching their small mouths race to get the most as they filled the room with lapping sounds. I couldn't help but wonder if Shikamaru was right, maybe they did need to be around other wolves. I had know idea about the others but I sure as hell didn't know what I was doing.

I bit my lip to prevent myself from growling and scaring the wolves. If those damn humans hadn't killed their pack because of a few deer these pups could have been with their birth mother. But then Hinata wouldn't be where is was now, I sighed.

A pup came up to me, licking its nose as it watched me chew on the meat. I shrugged, handing it a little piece and barely keeping my fingers.

"I guess you guys are tired of milk, huh." I grinned as the others came running over to me, tripping over their small feet. Giving them all the rest of my own breakfast I stood up, running my hands over my pants and placed the empty bowl down in the sink. "I'll see what Hinata says later."

As if they understood me the little pups pawed at my shins, clearly looking for something else to eat. I didn't want to over feed them though so they'd just have to make due with what they got.

Freezing as an all too familiar scent entered my nose, I shut off the water and grabbed the pups making my way up the staircase as the front door closed. I cursed myself, walking into the room and flopping on the bed, ignoring the pup licking my chin. I couldn't keep running from Uchiha Sasuke forever but I couldn't face him yet either... I was such a coward.

* * *

I woke up to the bedroom door opening and the pups barking happily. Looking over, I saw the red head and almost couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. Gaara was home already and, seeing as how the sun was still up, he was early. I sat up, watching him stand near the door as I sorted through my thoughts.

"You're back early." came my lame response. I really had no idea what to say to him when we weren't fighting.

Gaara shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest like he was already pissed off with me. I bit my tongue, swallowing my pride as I tried again - just to prove to Shikamaru later that I was mature. "Any luck finding another wolf pack?"

I took his indifferent silence as a no, this time really letting my eyes roll to the back of my head as I flopped back down onto the mattress. Ignoring the red head I took in a deep breath, knowing instantly that Uchiha Sasuke was gone. Sighing in relief I pocked a pup in the leg and earned myself a nip from its tiny sharp teeth. Maybe they were hungry again I sighed pulling my hand free from its mouth.

"I'm going to feed them." I stated even though I knew the other 01 wouldn't say anything but to my great surprise he did take two and follow me down the stairs. Now I felt like he was babysitting me... I slid my tongue over my teeth, huffing as I opened the fridge once more to get the wolf's food.

As I emptied the bottle's warm contents into a bowl the phone rang on the kitchen wall. I huffed, remembering that the older human had asked us to answer the phone earlier. Something about waiting for a call...

"Can you get that?" I asked, looking over my shoulder only to see the red head was no longer there. I closed my eyes, biting the inside of my cheek as I took a deep breath, attempting to swallow my frustration. Slamming the bowl on the floor, I ignored the pups whine and stormed over to the phone.

"What?" I snapped.

"Well, hello to you too." I immediately recognized the voice, biting my tongue until I tasted blood to stop myself from growling into the receiver. "Is Kakashi there?"

"No, he went out this morning." I muttered, knitting my brows in thought as I tried to remember her name. I could all but see the female human. Her long blonde hair bouncing behind her with each step as she ran away from me with tears dancing in her brown eyes, me hunting her down. Going for one limb at a time until she was nothing but a bloody pile of flesh... I grinned, running my claws down the wall lightly as if it was her right in front of me.

"Are you listening?"

My claws stopped digging into the plaster as I tried to bring myself back to the present. "Not really."

"Tell Kakashi I called - to call me back later." She sighed. "Do you have a pen and paper handy?"

"No." I bit out, waiting for her to say something else that would make me want to reach through the phone and break her neck. Taking another deep breath I remembered Shikamaru again and tried to behave myself. "Hold on."

I could hear the end of her pen tapping the desk I knew she was sitting behind with impatience. I wondered if Hinata was sitting there with her, trying with all her might to not stutter and keep the busty human calm. I could see the 02 playing with her fingers nervously as she listened to both sides of the conversation, playing down all of my rude comments in hopes the human was too. I doubted it but I didn't really give a shit.

Throwing a pad of paper onto the counter top I found in a draw, I picked up a pen and rolled my eyes. Now I was he freaking messenger, great. "Alright."

She gave me her number, guess it was new or something, and some other nonsense to write down because I was sure as hell not going to remember it all. "And you never came in for your check up."

I let a breath of air escape harshly, "I'm still alive as you can tell."

"Whatever, your old enough to take care of yourself." I knew she was mocking me, the bitch. "Just don't forget to give Kakashi that note, alright? Tell him Tsuna-"

And everything went black...

* * *

Awaking to my own vomit gushing out of throat was nasty, disgusting, and made it hard for me breathe. Panic took full force of me as my mind brought small facts to the forefront. The smell of deep set fear was the first thing that slammed into me, combined with the strong scent of urine, blood, and of course my bile. I wondered vaguely why the world was shaking then realized it was me, taking shuddering breaths against the pain.

What the hell happened? Where the fuck was I?

My eyes darted from right to left, catching glimpses of room I occupied. It was the kitchen... but different. The table was shredded, the chairs were no better, and the walls had multiply holes. Glass was scattered across the tiles and, for once, blood didn't look that great to me. The fridge was even in fragments, its light pooling into the destroyed room and highlighting Gaara off to the right. With the angle I was in I couldn't tell if he was watching me or not.

I tried to move, pushing the pain from my head away as I coughed up some blood. I groaned, trying again when an overwhelming pain took me by surprise, pulling a sharp whine from my throat as I planted my body back on the cool tile.

"Don't move."

Gaara's voice was different, like he was trying to take control over the situation. Judging by the room I wondered if he failed.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

I looked him in the eye, taking in his green orbs before shaking my head. "Should I?"

"I stabbed you in the lower spine. No lasting damage should happen if your careful."

I growled, pushing him away from me but not as hard as I would have liked. "Why the fuck would you do that, you asshole?" I yelled, reaching slowly around my body and moving inch by inch until my fingers grazed the handle of the kitchen knife. It was really there...

"You lost control-"

"Control of what?" I was hyperventilating now. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't feel my toes, my feet, my legs... Was the urine from me as well? Was I paralyzed?

"Don't touch it." He grabbed my hand and moved it from the knife resting in my back and tried to hide it but I saw it. He winced.

"You're hurt too... What happened?" My mind was racing now as I saw the deep gashes on his abdomen. "Where are the pups?"

"They're fine."

"But-" Gaara's head whipped so fast to the doorway that I lost my train of thought. The scent of blood and other things so thick it took me a minute to smell passed it but when I did I felt all the blood leave my face. "Shit..."

No sooner then the word slipped pass my lips did the pale human walk to the doorway. His face was paler, his eyes wide and his mouth opened and closed as if he was trying to get it to work. I felt Gaara tense up next to me and grabbed his wrist to stop him from doing anything stupid, hissing as the action caused my back to throb in pain.

"What happened..." His words were barely above a whisper and if I wasn't a man-made monster I was sure I wouldn't have heard him. I pretended not to anyway.

"It was nothing."

I almost wanted to laugh at the idiot.

"The hell it wasn't. You're bleeding out from your stomach and he's got a knife sticking out from his back!" My eyes were still on Uchiha Sasuke as he moved into the room, careful not to step on any glass until he reached our side. Gaara looked at him for another few seconds before standing completely, making sure to hold his side, and walking out of the kitchen. Leaving me alone with the human I still didn't really want to be alone with.

"What happened?" I shrugged, really not knowing myself. He didn't seem to like it. "Did he try to kill you?"

I rolled my eyes thinking of the knife, "If he was trying to kill me Gaara wouldn't have missed."

"What's that suppose to mean." His brows wrinkled, his hand eased its way down my back to where the knife was embedded in my flesh and bone.

"What it sounds like - Don't touch it!" I hissed, digging my claws into what I guessed was the floor tile. I bit my lower lip, drawing blood as I breathed through my nose roughly. It hurt like a bitch!

"I didn't." He was thinking fast, I could see his eyes zoning out as ideas moved in his brain a mile a minute. "I'll call Tsunade."

I growled, gripping my head as a pounding headache tried to win the battle. "Don't call that witch, I don't need her."

"She's a doctor-"

"I don't care!" Another whine escaped me as I pounded my fist on the floor. "The faster it's done the fast I won't feel it. Just pull it out."

"You told me not to touch it-"

"Well, I'm telling you now its fine!"

"I can't-"

"You're useless." I growled loudly, wrapping my fingers around the handle and ready to pull until I felt a death grip on my arm.

"I told you not to touch it." The red head was back, great. "Shikamaru is almost here." Even better.

"I'll wait with you until they get here." Oh, its my lucky day.

I looked up at the human, taking in his smooth face and dark hair. His deep eyes and thin lips. I wondered briefly why he paid me so much more attention then the others. Why, or when, I started to become more aware of him. Even now when more bile played at the back of my throat, a migraine threatened to overload my brain, a knife was buried in my spine, _and _a pissed 02 was drawing closer all I could wonder was when the human would kiss me again. My priorities needed help.

* * *

My back was still killing me but it had only been a day. Still I was hoping that as the wound closed up the deep rooted pain would leave- not to mention my legs were still giving out on me too. For now I was moving from seat to seat like I was a handicap child, just perfect. To make things even better I would never live it down that I cried like a baby when the 02 pulled it out. Fucking Gaara.

"He told me his story, tell me yours."

Shikamaru was standing in front of me, looking down and I was too weak at this point in time to meet his gaze. "I told you, I don't remember. One minute I was on the phone taking down a note, the next I was throwing up my last meal with a knife in my back."

"So, you _did _lose control?"

"No!" I glared up at him, biting the inside of my cheek as I thought it over. "I mean... I don't think so..."

"Who were you talking to?"

I shook my head, "What?"

"Over the phone, who were you talking to?" He sounded annoyed but I was pretty sure that was just Shikamaru.

"Uh," I tried to remember her name. It was on the tip of my tongue. "That female human with the big chest... the doctor."

"Tsunade." I gritted my teeth as a sharp pain went through my head almost as if I'd been hit. When it passed I saw the brunette watching my worriedly.

"Probably just after effects of what happened."

Shikamaru's brown eyes were glued on me for so long I thought he might say something important until he sighed, running a hand over his face. "Take a nap, I'll wake you up in a bit."

I pouted, not really wanting to sleep right now but it didn't seem like I had a choice. But I still stalled. "What did you tell Hatake Kakashi?"

Another sigh from the 02 and I realized that he was tired. Tired was coming up with half truths to save our asses. "I told him the truth."

My insides fell into a bottomless hole I didn't know existed. "_Everything_?"

"Everything."

"But he's the only one who knows." I stated, that had to be it.

"A few others know too." He looked at me, at my wide eyes and nodded answering my unasked question. "Including Uchiha Sasuke."

I wish that black hole would swallow me up completely.

What would the human think of me now? Would he still want to be around me after learning what I was. Why did I care?

"Take a nap," The brunette ordered, covering my eyes with his big hand as he pushed me into the soft sofa gently until my head hit the cushion. "I'll wake you when it's time to eat."

I watched him walk away, leaving me behind in the empty living room. I wish I was upstairs with Hinata and the pups, at least they would have distracted me. This room, this couch. They made me think of him. I closed my eyes, pushing the memory of our last kiss away as I willed sleep to over take me.

I felt my mind drifting and shutting down, getting ready for a dreamless sleep when I was pulled from it all together as the doorbell rang. I heard Shikamaru's lazy steps to the door, as it opened her scent of flowers filled my nose. It bugged me that I was able to put a face and name to it.

"Ino," I heard him say, not that he was shocked to see her there, I was sure he's caught her scent. "What's wrong?"

I was glued to it, waiting to hear whatever she was going to say when I saw Hinata coming down the stairs. I gave her a lazy wave and she smiled but it didn't reach her eyes I noted as she sat next to me. Something was up...

"Shikamaru... I'm pregnant."

I jumped up, wincing slightly as images of the gray wolf's round belly filled my head. I was almost excited - then, quickly, my excitement turned to disgust. I knew it, the 02 had betrayed us. Scowling I faced Hinata unprepared for the tears I saw rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

TBC...

* * *

Don't forget to review :) I hope to get some more Naruto/Sasuke action in the next chapter XD But until then feel free to read Bump in the night~

Well, I'm finally getting to a point in the this story. Feels like its taken forever but that's because it has - right?

Thank you readers for putting up with me :)

Until next time,

CR~

_Went back and fixed a couple things I missed. Sorry for the typos I know they are annoying but no one's perfect._


	11. Chapter 11

Subjects

* * *

_CagedRaven_

* * *

Chapter 11

* * *

It was awkward being in that house with all the humans. They knew our secrets now and the way their eyes was on us was different from yesterday. The humans were unsure, curious, and maybe even proud of themselves for knowing something was up the entire time. I didn't give a shit what that big chested female and old male thought, or that Hatake Kakashi because after living with him for this long, if he couldn't put two and two together then he was a complete idiot. Uchiha Sasuke...I didn't give a shit about what he thought either. Not like I could change it... I _wouldn't_ change it, I scowled. Couldn't sounded like I wanted to.

Hinata was still up in our room, not answering the door no matter how many times I knocked. The thought of ripping it off the hinges had my blood pumping but seeing how the kitchen is still in sheds... not the smartest move right now. I was pissed off at the 02 and his human. I didn't need another reason to want to tear his head off. The red head seemed to have disappeared again,too. How come no one told him to stay put? I growled at myself for actually listening and kicked a rock further into the woods. I wasn't supposed to go any farther then this but I wanted to.

With my next breath, the familiar scent of Uchiha Sasuke entered my nose. The same heaviness I associated with our kiss trialing in the gentle breeze as if to make me chase it. I wouldn't lie, I wanted to.

"Shikamaru told me you would be here." I scowled, the 02 needed to mind his own business.

"Why are you following me?" It came out on a defeated sigh, I didn't mean it to so I added a growl towards the end. I didn't even want to turn around to face his dark eyes but did when he stood too close. I couldn't understand him. He knew I wasn't human now for sure but his feelings hadn't changed, whatever they were. He still moved closer, his eyes watching my face in a way that _actually_ had me looking the other way. The last time we kissed I felt like an ass and left him to deal with the human that saw us. Now, out here in the beginning of the forest, I had no human to leave him with. But I had my claws to rip him up, I grinned.

I guess he thought my grin was for him because he grinned back. "I wanted to be alone with you. I get it now, everything. Why you don't understand sex."

I raised a brow, still facing the trees to my right instead of him. There was that word again. Whenever he said it that heavy heat pushed a little more to the surface and had me feeling more awkward. "Because I'm really four years old?"

"Yeah," He laughed half heartily, "But if you were the age you looked and raised as human - were more human, I guess you would have known."

I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling the sharp edges of my teeth sink into tender flesh. More human. I couldn't believe I was even a part human. Damn Shikamaru and his brains, telling me things I didn't want to know. But now the humans themselves knew it too. It was suppose to give us a little leeway with them; we weren't all monster or some shit, it made me want to kill myself. Part human... whatever my part was I hope it was so small that I could squash it to dust.

"What's the big deal anyway, all it's good for is offspring." I looked at him; yeah I had talked with Shikamaru, that's how Ino was carrying a pup now...baby? Whatever. "Only females can give birth."

"Sex is more then that." He was standing right in front of me now, forcing me to look up at him. His shoulders were tense, like he was ready to fight me or something but I just squared my own and locked eyes with him. If he thought he could intimidate me - "And I don't want kids."

"Then what do you want?" I growled, waiting for him to back down and get out of my face but he only got closer, threading his long fingers into my blonde hair and locking his lips with mine. I relaxed into it too quickly, closed my eyes too fast and opened my mouth before he even asked. He was so familiar to my body now and that scent always clouded my brain - had me acting before thinking. I felt his tongue run over mine and I wanted to swallow it, keep it there forever. I nipped it instead and sighed when no blood coated my taste buds. He moved over every inch, as if trying to figure out how it all worked. His guess was as good as mine, I just knew it did. But not all the time...

I broke away from him, pulling in deep breaths of air from my mouth as I felt his teeth play at my jaw. I didn't realize I had offered him my neck until I felt him there too, his hands on my arm and back as if trying to hold me up right. I was cautious having him this close on my neck were all he had to do was make one move and kill me. He must have felt me stiffen because slowly he trialed his tongue up to my ear, nipping the skin until that scent filled my senses again.

When did I put my hands on his waist? My claws were out, I know they were. Just as I knew my teeth had gotten sharper, deadlier. I was losing myself and could spill all his blood in a heartbeat.

"Stop." I muttered, and almost regretted it when the words left me.

He paused, standing up right and waiting for me to catch my breath. "What's wrong?"

I thought of Shikamaru, "I need a second to..." To what?

"You're suppose to feel this, _that's_ what its all about." I looked up at him, getting ready to say something but forgot when he grinned again. "Your body gives you away."

"What?"

"Your eyes," Are they red, I wondered, not feeling the burn but looking away from him anyway. He pulled my gaze back with a finger under my chin. I wanted to bite it off. "I can see it, you want this."

"_This_...?" I breathed, "What the hell is _this_?" I was lost and on a high I didn't know how to get down from. _Did_ I want get down from it was the question. Yes. I growled and pushed him away from me, ignoring his changed expression.

"Why are you angry?" He was confused, good.

"Because I don't understand you! You make no sense." I wouldn't mention the power he had over me. Never. "I have no idea who you are but you seem to know a lot about me."

He ran a hand over his face, blowing out stale air. "We can talk then-"

"You don't want to talk." I cut him off. No point in lying to me. "You're treating me like that female you would come to the house with."

"Sakura?" I looked him in the eye, waiting for him to understand something because I had confused myself. "How am I treating you like her?"

"Forget it."I growled, turning around to leave him behind. I felt his hand wrap around my wrist, it was the third time I wondered why I stopped when he did that.

"No, tell me."

I scowled, not wanting to face him as I thought up something that sounded right. I couldn't, my mind was blank and I couldn't blame it on that heavy scent seeing as it had disappeared as quickly as it came. Replaced with unsure curiosity and anger. So I blamed my frantic heart that still beat like crazy underneath my ribs.

"Never mind." I sighed, pulling from his hold altogether. I could feel my back begin to ache, a pain I hoped would vanish completely soon and decided to sit next to a tree. "Just forget it."

"But I can't." Uchiha Sasuke sat next to me; dread had me rolling my eyes as I felt the situation turn sappy... "I don't think it's her that's bothering you. Is it your lack of control?"

"Lack of control?" I growled, "I don't-"

"If you think that's going to stop me from fucking your brains out then you _really_ don't know me at all."

He was grinning again; that scent was back and stronger then ever. Had I missed something...? I didn't know him, that's one of the things that was pissing me off. He was a giant mystery I couldn't even break the surface of. And the way he used words sometimes... like _fucking_. I only used it when I was angry but when it came from his mouth I felt like he could see under my very skin.

"What?"

He looked ahead, pulling my hand into his and lacing our fingers, causing me to roll my eyes again. I don't think I would ever understand him.

* * *

Sasuke, as he told me to call him, opened the door for us and closed it behind me. Our fingers were still linked together and after a while I realized I didn't mind. I could hear and smell the others still in the next room and for some reason I was irritated we weren't alone for a little longer. As if sensing my mood, Sasuke pressed his mouth against mine, pulling away before I could respond. He smiled before doing it again, pushing me into the door where his hands rested on either side of my head. I held the fabric of his shirt in one hand, pulling him closer to me, urging him to kiss me as he had before. But he pulled away, that smile still on his face like he had a great secret he _might_ share with me later.

"Naruto." I turned, looking passed Sasuke into Shikamaru's face. Heat rose to my face causing me to push Sasuke further from me. Shikamaru looked like he wanted to laugh, great, but only shook his head. "I need to tell you something important."

I froze, what else could he need to get off his chest? I already heard the worst thing in the world - being part human... the other part I could live with. The wolf. It made more sense to me. "What do I need to know?"

"Come into the living room." He mumbled, walking back through the door way. "When you're ready."

He _was_ laughing at me, the ass. I hoped he realized I had a lot more to laugh at when it came to him. At least I didn't have a baby on the way and a crying 02 upstairs to deal with. But I did. I wouldn't leave Hinata to Shikamaru. After all this time with her Hinata had begun to be important to me.

What was wrong with me today? I felt different in a way I wasn't too sure was good...

Sasuke freed my hand and moved me in the direction of the living room. "Get going, idiot."

I shot him a glare making my way to the other room. "You're a bastard."

My fake glare turned into confusion as all eyes fell on the two of us. There was no where to sit but judging from the 02's face I doubted I would have anyway. "What's this about?"

"Remember I told you about us being a part human?"

How could I forget? I nodded for him to continue, looking only at Shikamaru and ignoring the humans that littered the room.

"When you were...out-"

"You were talking about me?" I knew it already just from the body language when I walked in the room.

"It isn't a coincidence you look like someone they know."

"What do you mean...?" I felt my heart beating against my ribs harshly. Shikamaru seemed to hold a lot of secrets I didn't really want to know, something told me this wasn't going to be any different.

"You look like someone very important to us." The female doctor stated, drawing my attention to her. I glared, biting the inside of my cheek.

"So I've heard."

"He was a good friend to Jiraiya and I, but also he was our leader. He ran the town, made sure everyone was safe and happy. One day he was murdered right in his office."

I couldn't help but wonder why the blonde thought I had to hear the whole story. I never knew him so I had no feelings towards his death, it was just a fact that the human was dead nothing more.

"We never found the killer but we had our guesses. A man known to both of us since our childhood always wanted power, always wanted the job but he was never appointed it. We believe that maybe your "creator" might be the same person."

"What makes you think that?" I crossed my arms over my chest, ignoring the throbbing in my spine as I waited for her answer. It was like she was trying to make a link between us, I didn't like it.

"He had always talked about his _ideas_... Mixing DNA, making an army of sorts. I even helped him with some of the research just for curiosity's sake but after a while our work turned into something I didn't want to be a part of. I see now that he succeeded..."

"Mixing the DNA of humans with animals to make the perfect fighting machine." Shikamaru sighed, "But that was just the beginning of it."

"The beginning of what?" I snapped, waiting for this story to get to a point. "He might have mixed my DNA with that human's and I look like him." I got _that_ much, "But so what? Why go through all the trouble?"

"I'm not sure, but when I first saw you, I wondered." The doctor's blue eyes rested on me again before she looked at the 02. "You know, don't you?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed once more before looking at me too. "Naruto was made to be an assassin of sorts without being aware of it. He was to find you both and kill you."

I shrugged, taking his words for what they were - the truth. That's what we were all made to do. Kill humans that needed killing. I just didn't know why these two old humans needed to be singled out.

"There's a trigger though..." The 02's eyes were sharp and pricing. Like he was waiting for something to hit me before he said the words. "I'm not sure what it is yet."

He lied... I could tell as he looked down at his folded hands in his lap that he was holding back. He didn't want to tell the whole story, didn't want to dig my grave deeper... But it was too late. I knew what the trigger was. The kitchen, the phone call. When she had said her name... I lost it and couldn't remember anything. That had to be it. But if the 02 wouldn't say it neither would I.

"Why does he want to kill them so bad?" I had forgotten the younger female was even there although she sat right next to Shikamaru.

"I think its his sick way of telling us his projects all worked out in the end and he _did_ kill our leader." The older female muttered under her breath before standing up and changing the conversation. "However, Ino, I would like to examine you first thing tomorrow. Carrying the baby of Shikamaru's is interesting, more so since I was told it would be a first."

That's right, Shikamaru told us our females couldn't give birth. Maybe that was why Hinata was crying...?

Ino nodded and I rolled my eyes when Shikamaru weaved his fingers in between hers, telling her he would go with her.

Suddenly it felt like the air in the room was lighter, everyone stood and walked about, talking of dinner or leaving to return to their own homes. Like the conversation we were just having didn't happen. Not for the first time I thought humans were strange but it was the first time I had to include our group in it.

* * *

The house was quite again, everyone in their rooms and ready for bed. Kakashi was out doing who knows what while Gaara was doing the same. Pissed me off that Shikamaru didn't say anything about that. The 02 was in his room with his human while Hinata was still locked in our bedroom. I haven't been in there all day, haven't seen _her_ all day or the pups. I walked to the door, knocking on it lightly before calling her name. Little whines and barks sounded on the other side, happy to hear that someone else was paying them attention but I got no response from her and tried again. After a minute or two I sighed.

"Why are you hiding from me?" I mumbled, leaning my head on the door as I talked to myself it seemed.

"Naruto," I turned to face the pale human who stood at his own door, it seemed like he was waiting for me. I had no idea what had crossed his mind.

"I'll be downstairs." I sighed, turning towards the stairs but my feet didn't move. The heavy scent was back, coating Sasuke completely and waiting to overtake me. Running my tongue across my teeth I forced my right foot to move then my left, not looking back until I was three steps down. Our eyes connected in the semi darkness and in that split second I think he knew what I was thinking. He followed me.

I moved silently, crossing the living room and heading to the front door. I was slipping on a pair of shoes when he was right beside me, following my lead. I met his eyes once more and he grinned, that scent still filling my lungs with each breath. He moved closer, pressing his lips to mine in a kiss I almost lost myself in. I pulled away but he grabbed my hand.

"Loser." I mumbled lamely. He let an airy laugh escape him before pulling me out the door, into the darkness of the night.

O0O0O0

We didn't say much, didn't need to. We both knew why we had come to the forest. We could be alone here while Sasuke wanted to share something with me and, for some unknown reason, I think I was willing to accept it.

My fingers dug into the tree's bark behind me as his mouth forced mine to move. His hips, so close to mine, barely touched me but I remembered what happened before. I was nervous, damn it. I hated myself for it but I was. I didn't know what was happening or what would happen next. I'm such an ass.

"Relax, don't think about it." He mumbled into my ear, grinding his hips into mine and dragging a groan out of my throat. "Just feel it."

"Wait-" My hand moved to his shoulder on another groan. I couldn't remember what I was trying to say...

His mouth was on my cheek, breathing me in as our hips rocked together, faster and harder. Something was building up inside of me, something new. I was almost there, wherever this craziness was leading me. I arched into his touch, curving my back to meet him all the way when a sharp pain took my breath away, ripping a painful whine from my throat as I felt my knees buckle. If Sasuke hadn't been so close my face would have met the earth.

"Shit!" I hated Gaara so fucking much.

"You okay?" I could taste his worry, felt like it messed up everything we had built up. "Do you want to sit?"

He didn't wait for my answer, just lowered me to the ground. Pulling me onto my back; I glared up at him, not really caring for the setup as I noted he rested right in between my legs. Our hips were still so close together; I could feel his warmth and a hardness. I wondered if what I was feeling was happening to my own body was the same thing that was happening to his.

I bit my lip as another wave came over me - damn, I was happy it left just as quickly as it came. Sasuke leaned over my body, pressing his hips further into mine, touching his lips to my own as if it was a silent question. I opened up to him, allowing him in as I wrapped an arm around his body holding onto his shoulder blade in answer. Yes, I wanted to keep going. Fuck my lower spine and its issues.

After what seemed like forever our kiss had heated up. It seemed he realized he couldn't hurt me or some shit. His hips were moving, grinding into mine and had me reaching for air I wasn't sure I was getting. I bit my lower lip, ignoring the urge to dig my claws into his flesh as a moan that quickly turned into a growl escaped my lips when he stopped. His hand was in a tight fist next to my face when he kissed me again, letting hot air out through his nose. Suddenly I felt the hot skin of his hand on my abdomen, my eyes flew open to look up at him.

"I'm not going to do anything you won't like." He breathed, his forehead touching mine as his hand moved down to my pants. I was still stiff, unsure. He kissed me again, "Relax, don't think just feel it."

I forced my eyes to close, feeling his fingers moving through my coarse strands of hair, going further down, deeper until he touched what was giving me hell. My eyes opened quickly, my head flying back giving Sasuke all of my neck as a noise pulled free from me. I might later remember it and hate myself for the rest of my life.

"Fuck!" I gritted out, my claws digging into the ground when his hand surrounded me fully. He grinned, pulling up on my heated flesh slowly dragging another groan from me. He kept doing that for a while, had me panting and cursing away, until he groaned himself and pulled away.

I saw him unbuckle his pants; his eyes, matching the darkness that was around us, were on me - full of heat and something else I wasn't in the mood to figure out. All I knew was I was at my breaking point. Whatever the hell had built up inside me was getting ready to burst, it was almost there, I wanted it to overflow and Sasuke was the one that was going to make it happen. Soon.

He pulled my pants down slightly, showing off more of my skin, before doing the same to his own. I felt my heart beating roughly in a strange mixture of emotions. I swallowed, taking another dry breath before thinking of something to say. "What happens next?"

"Something amazing." He let an airy laugh escape him again, lowering his body onto mine where our heated, wet bodies met. My claws dug into the tree's bark above my head, breaking it into pieces at the contact. Without giving me a minute to think, Sasuke started moving again, panting on my neck and his fingers holding my hips down while I took on all his weight. I felt his hair on my cheek and chin; my eyes closed so tightly I wasn't sure if they would open again. I could feel the bark begin to rip into my skin as I held onto it tighter with each passing moment. My teeth, biting into my lower lip, causing it to split. I was _so_ close!

Then, whatever I was waiting for happened. It felt like I was running, my heart was beating so fast and my lungs couldn't keep up. My body was moving in overtime to met Sasuke's without my control and the moisture in between us was growing by each of my body's spasms. I had no idea what I was saying, if I was saying anything at all. I took in deep gasp of air only to push it out on weak moans as Sasuke seemed to be following me on this crazy ride. He kissed me roughly, leaving nothing private. What we were feeling was for both of us to share.

I took another breath after pulling away from him, liking how our scents were mixed together and looked up at the tops of the trees. This is what I've been missing all of my life... Wow...

I felt a foggy film lie across my thoughts, making me feel content and filled. Maybe even overflowed. Still having Sasuke's body on top of me might have been even better. I could feel his breath, warm and dry, touching the skin on my neck before he moved slightly as if rearranging his weight.

"That was... _something_..." I mumbled, running my tongue across my lip, tasting the small drops of blood that escaped and Sasuke. I felt his face move in what could only be a grin.

"Wait till we go all the way."

"There's more?"

"There's always more." He raised his upper body, taking my lips for his own. I nipped his tongue, pulling away when he winced.

"Sorry." I sighed.

"No, I think I got off easy." He was looking at the tree above my head, had me craning my neck to see it too. It looked like a hungry beast took a bite right out of it.

"Maybe we should move before it falls." I said, noticing how it rocked slightly.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

* * *

It had been a while since I had been this deep in the forest. Maybe since Sasuke and I first had sex - even though he said that wasn't really it. It was a weird experience... but I liked it. When I saw Shikamaru's face in the morning I pretended like nothing happened but I'm sure he knew because I was sleeping in Sasuke's room.

"Naruto?"

I turned around to face Hinata, giving her my biggest smile. "Yeah?" It seemed like forever since I had last seen the 02 or the pups. But she had finally come out of the bedroom and joined me for a walk. She surprised me further by ignoring the human, Ino. Completely. Shikamaru didn't say anything about that but I think he wanted to.

"Where are we going?" The pups were trailing behind her feet, nipping at whatever they cold find.

"I thought we should teach them how to hunt small game." She nodded but her eyes told me she didn't want to. Teaching them how to hunt meant something was going to die. "We don't have to, though."

When she stopped walking I stopped to. I felt like I was walking on eggshells with her but I didn't want to lose her again. Running a hand through my hair I looked towards a large tree, thinking of something to say.

"Are you with a human now too?" I felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over my head. Did she feel like I betrayed her too?

I shrugged, "I'm not sure." No point in lying to her, she has a nose almost as strong as mine. She can smell Sasuke on me.

"I'm surprised. I thought you hated them so much." She smiled and continued to walk past me.

"You're not mad?" I said after five whole minutes.

"No, I think this is a step up for you, Naruto." She wasn't facing me but I knew she was telling the truth. Although I know now that she actually liked me, thanks to Shikamaru, I thought that if she wasn't going to tell me herself then I'd continue to pretend I didn't know.

"Gee, thanks." I said loudly, hoping to bring back our old friendship. "So what do you want to do-?"

A scent so failure hit me like a ton of bricks and had me running towards it, leaving Hinata in the dust. I heard her call out to me in panic but I had no time to console her. This couldn't be a trick. No one knew this scent better then me. But it couldn't be... I broke through the dense the foliage, freezing when my eyes took in the site before me. He was grinning, sitting on a fallen tree with his legs swinging like he'd been doing this all of his life. Like this was _normal_. I felt my lungs work harder as my eyes moved over every inch of him to make sure this was real, he was okay.

"Kiba...?"

"Long time, no see, Naruto." It really was him.

"You're okay!" I wanted to go to him but felt like I couldn't.

"Yeah, sure am."

"How did you escape?" I had so many questions.

"I just did with no help from you." That felt like a smack to my face.

"I wanted to, but Shikamaru was waiting for the right time." That didn't come out right.

"Oh, so you're blaming this Shikamaru?"

"No," I bit the inside of my cheek, "No, I could have gone back anytime to get you."

We were quite for a while, I could still hear Hinata calling my name as she got closer. Kiba seemed to hear her too and tried to lower the tension. "It's alright, I'm out now."

He jumped down from the tree, walking over to me before freezing and plugging his nose. "Wow you stink."

"Yeah, we've been living in this human town for a while now. I guess the scents rubbed off on me." I grinned, pulling on the shirt I wore that was Sasuke's.

"Great, now I have to carry your smelly ass all the way back."

I looked at him, _really_ looked. "Back where?"

Kiba pulled a small black box shaped item from his pocket, his finger on a button. "Where do you think?"

As soon as the button was pressed the high pitched noise had me crashing to my knees, uncontrollable tears running from my eyes, and a scream I couldn't hear ripping from my throat. My hands pressed hard against my ears but it did nothing to keep the noise out. It was like I was going crazy as it rattled my brain. The scent of blood filled my nose as it ran down my hands. My ears were bleeding...

I was trying to fight it, fight Kiba as he moved closer and picked me up by the neck of my shirt. I saw the little buds in his ears, explaining why he wasn't crying on the ground with me. He was saying something but I couldn't hear him, instead I tried to read his lips, only catching the last few words through the pain: all a lie. I saw his arm swing back before he punched me hard in the gut. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out, kicking him before he punched me again in the same spot. I tasted blood in my mouth but gritted my teeth and tried again to kick him away me. When the third hit came I felt one of my ribs crack, a pain that combined with everything else swallowed me up into darkness.

* * *

TBC...

* * *

A/N: I am really, really, really sorry readers. You have no idea how busy I have been. With my job, the holidays, medical problems, and, as always, writers block my writing has come to an odd pause. So, I found myself with some free time and decided it was time to put Writers Block six feet under - at least for now...

I put on my favorite movie (Pride & Prejudice), lit a yummy smelling candle, grabbed the best snack I could find, and have been sitting in front of this computer for the last four hours. I hope you love the chapter (Naruto/Sasuke~!) and maybe I'll even see some more reviews for this story (crossing my fingers).

Until next time~

P.S.

Wow, I need to go back an fix a lot of mistakes lol. I'm sure there is a handful in this chapter as well but it's funny I don't see them when I'm rereading before I post it up.


	12. Chapter 12

**Subjects**

* * *

_CagedRaven_

* * *

**Chapter 12**

* * *

My eyes dilated; a blinding light digging into them. I kept watching it, however, with dry eyes as a machine pumped liquid fire called Obedience into my shackled arms. The sound it made every second was familiar but I remembered it differently... if I remembered it at all. No, it must have been a dream.

A dull ache raced up and down my spine; the hard table they had me lying on, made of heavy steal, caused pressure points and sores on my flesh. I ignored that too, focused solely on the light hitting my face from above.

The door to my room opened, sliding close after a person walked in. He was talking to me, saying something he thought important. I looked up when he got closer, watching his golden eyes catch the light and wondered if the lighting burned his eyes too. Suddenly his gaze locked with mine, looking deep as if to see if I comprehended the words spilling from his lips.

"Do you understand, Naruto."

I wasn't listening at all, didn't think I had to. There was only one answer I had to repeat, always. "Yes, kill them."

I thought I had answered wrong, he didn't say anything just watched me as I watched him. The sound of the machine pumping more Obedience into my veins filling the empty space. He moved closer to me and lifted his hand, petting the top of my head. He was pleased.

"Good boy, Naruto." He petted me a couple of times before walking towards the exit. "You'll be ready soon."

The door closed, leaving me by myself once again with the noisy machine. For some unknown reason... I was angry.

* * *

This room was different; no more tables to tie me to and no more chains to contain me. Instead in its place was a soft single chair, a large bed, and lots of clothes I wondered if I could change into. But the lights were still harsh.

I ran my fingers over one of the shirts, it was soft and felt thin, perfect for the warm temperatures of this place. I wanted to wear it, cool off, as I knew the Obedience may have given me a fever. But what if it wasn't for me...? It felt like the first time in my short life I was nervous... maybe even scared of my creator. He made me didn't he, he could destroy me just as easily. I let the soft fabric slip from my grasp and it felt like I lost another part of myself.

"Those are yours." I knew it was Kiba, his scent tickling my nose as the door moved silently behind him, closing us in. "You should change and get some rest. Obedience is some powerful stuff."

Yeah, I know it was. My arms still burned and I could see the bruises growing just underneath my skin but those would heal soon. It was the heavy fog that had me worried. I felt like there was something clouding my brain, keeping memories that I had made just out of reach. I thought maybe I should ask about that but something deep inside told me to keep quite. I chose to listen.

"Naruto?"

I looked at him, taking in his tanned skin and bushy brown hair. The way his sharp teeth peeked out from underneath his lips. This was the friend I had made, grew up with, and told everything too. Then _why_ did I hate him so much?

"Yes?" I felt like a computer trying to express some kind of emotion. Fake.

"Change your clothes and throw those away." That's right, Kiba wasn't just my friend but one of my leaders too.

Without a second thought I pulled the hem of my shirt up and over my head, catching a scent so familiar I pressed it under my nose. I took a deep breath, almost moaning as my body reacted but my thoughts failed to keep up. I knew this smell, it was so strong to my senses even though it was starting to fade on the fabric. My knees hit the floor, I hadn't known I was falling, as I took another breath. I felt like with every sniff I was getting higher and higher.

A hand caught my shoulder, gripping it hard and pulling me from my own little world. I didn't like it; turned around and snarled as I snapped my teeth. My eyes burned but it had nothing to do with the glaring lights over head. They couldn't take this - _have_ this! It belonged to me.

I felt something small but sharp sink into the skin of my arm, almost as quickly my body grew heavy and I was suddenly happy I was already on the floor.

"I told them we should have stripped you before but no one listens to me." Kiba blew the airy smoke escaping from the guns mouth, a tranquilizer gun. "I guess you need more Obedience."

I wanted to say I was sorry, I didn't know what just happened but my mouth wasn't working. If it was I doubted those words would have come out. I was still holding the shirt close to my body, pressing it into my flesh as if to get the scent on me. This belong to no one but me.

Everything was growing black. My face was getting closer and closer to the floor and my hold on reality was slipping in between the cracks of unconsciousness. I could still feel the anger growing in the pit of my stomach and the hatred blooming right beside it.

* * *

"Feeling better, Naruto?"

His voice was heavy in my ears, weighing me down as much as the hand on my shoulder. I'm sure he felt it, how hot my flesh was against his skin. I was having a fever, a high one, but he knew better then anyone that I would live.

My arms burned from the medication that was pumped into my body, fogging my brain completely over. I knew he said something, but I couldn't understand it. What did he mean? I looked up to meet his gaze, lowering my eyes after a moment to his chin. Those golden eyes were pricing, digging under my skin and deep into my bones.

"Good boy," His cool fingers moved through my hair, dipping under my skull to my neck and touching over the old burns that identified my place in this world. "Your ready now. And what must good boy's do for their masters?"

I heard the doors open and close, two sets of feet walking just behind me and my creator. He turned to face them but still left his hand on me. A reminder he wanted an answer but I wasn't sure I knew it. Two feet stopped in front of me and I looked up to meet the face. It was my team leader but I didn't know his name. His long locks were pulled back with a tie and his pale skin was washed out by the darkness of his hair. In his big hands he held a small white box, the many buttons on it had me sure it was a recorder. He pushed one and all I could hear was static for a couple of seconds until slight murmuring was picked up.

"Can you hear that, Naruto? I want you to listen carefully." He sounded excited, the tips of his nails digging into my shoulder as a mad grin spread across his face.

_"Do you know who you're talking to?"_ It was a female voice, heated with anger over something I was unaware of.

_"I really don't care who you think you are-"_ My creator... He knew her somehow.

_"I am Tsunade, you bastard! The one who helped you with all of that foolishness!"_

_"Just leave, and don't ever come back!"_ A third voice, male, came from the same device - but the female was were I stopped listening. I felt my body freeze at the sound of her name; a short spasm raced through me, carrying an abundant amount of emotions I could feel begin to lose its focus until to smothered out leaving me empty and blank with only one desire, to kill her.

My creator laughed; it filled the whole room and bounced off the walls, hitting my eardrums painfully. "Unlock him - hurry! I want this mission completed by the end of the month!"

A human came over, I could smell the fear rolling off him as it filled my nose with its powerful scent. Fear equaled prey.

I crushed his skull with one hand once he finished freeing me from the chair I had been sitting in. I could still hear his scream of pain even after his brain was crushed. The other humans aimed guns at me but didn't fire when my creator rise his arm. I let his body hit the floor, blood slashing the pants covering my legs as I walked closer to my team leader. With my bloody hand I took the small recorder, noted how much bigger it looked in my hand, and crushed it to small pieces. Small bits of plastic and metal dug into my hand but I couldn't feel it.

"Good boy." I knew then that this was the answer that he wanted.

* * *

"Let me tell you a secret," My eyes were facing the floor, listening to Kiba without understanding fully the words coming from his mouth. "Remember we used to always say we would get out of here?"

He began laughing as I pulled on a pair of boots, they would help me reach my maximum speed- or that was what I was told.

"What am I thinking, of coarse you don't." I paused lacing up my shoes, looking up at him as he came over. "I'll tell you anyway even if it won't be as fun. Well, it was always going to happen because that was the plan all along. You meeting Shikamaru, that underground escape route, the town not too far away. Shikamaru, however, started to change things. Like the other two tagging along and leaving me behind. He betrayed us! All for a piece of ass he couldn't forget when he scouted out the forest the first time..."

His grin faded into a glare, teeth gritting tightly until blood slipped from the cut on his lip. I tied a knot, pulling on the next boot and doing the same to its laces. "You know, I kind of miss the old Naruto."

I met his eyes again, he said my name but I didn't get why. He grinned again and pushed my head in what I guessed was playful manner. "Finished getting dressed, then we can go train."

As he walked to the door I pulled on a new shirt, it was heavy and would protect my vulnerable spots from attacks. I was confused by it, did I really need it?

_0o0o0o0o_

The place was dark but my eyes could see where the enemy was. Kiba tapped my shoulder, flashing me a couple of hand signs telling me where he wanted me to wait but I still couldn't grasp its meaning. As he moved slowly away from me with a nod I looked back at the enemy. I moved a little closer, catching their scent as I moved through the artificial forest. It was there again, heavy and potent in the air as it played on my tongue, begging me to swallow it. _Fear_.

They were pigs sent to feed the monster that slept within me, and he wanted a taste.

My eyes burned, building their own fire with each step I took. My vision grew sharper, my thirst stronger. I was so close. I watched the human pacing only a few feet from me, he had on heavy gear, his head moving from side to side with every little noise he thought he heard.

He wiped to the right, pointing his gun as if that could help him as more fear came off his bones. I took that moment to pounce. Covering the small distance in seconds and ripping into his flesh with my claws and teeth. Blood sprayed from where my fangs met his jugular as a wailing scream escaped his dying body. Feet headed our way, closing in fast as I took what was left of his life and swallowed down the meat in my mouth. I could feel the warmth of his blood dipping down my face as I took another bite, filling my mouth and ripping open his chest to get to the best part. I grabbed the heart, pulling it free with little problem as humans pointed guns at me. Kiba came up behind me, shaking his head as my creator's voice filled the room over the speakers.

"Lower you guns, I told you not to kill him no matter what. You all knew what you were getting yourselves into when you took the job."

I ran my tongue across it stained surface, tasting the blood as if it would be the last thing I would ever get.

"You weren't suppose to kill anyone today." Kiba was still shaking his head; the human's eyes still dug into me - naming me a monster. I could feel my creator's gaze too; right on the back of my neck, waiting to see what I'd do next.

I grinned; breathing in the scent of blood, death, and anxiety as if it was my life source and popped the red organ into my mouth. Crimson leaking from the corners of my mouth.

* * *

I could feel the chunks moving up from my stomach to my mouth as it pushed out. My organs felt strained, overworked. My face touched the cool surface of the tile, my eyes closed as I tried not to look at it but I smelled it all the same. My tongue was coated in its nasty flavor, my eyes tearing as if I was crying from the pain. But this wouldn't kill me.  
Another wave washed over me, pulling more to the surface and onto the floor. This time I saw blood. A grin played at my dirty lips.

"Couldn't even make it to the toilet, huh?"

It was Kiba, looking down at me on the floor with his hands buried deep within his pockets. I was starting to understand little things, like bringing up things from the past - Kiba called it memories. Small conversations between getting the mission done and sarcasm. I eyed him, my vision watery as I took in his features in my messy bedroom.

"It's fine, I'll call someone to clean it up. And the doctor to look at you."

I didn't want a doctor. I didn't want Obedience. I looked away from him and rolled onto my back, facing the white ceiling. It was bright up there, with all the insignificant lights on. I wondered how dark it would be with them all off.

"Sit tight, I'll be right back." The door closed behind him, leaving me by myself once more. Just how I seemed to like it. I closed my eyes, mind blank and empty as a lightness over took my body. Something I put with sleep drowning my senses. I was almost lost in the darkness when I heard the door slid open again. I looked at humans in white coats carrying large bags filled with items I knew the smell of. It wasn't Obedience but something just as strong.

"Hold down his arm, please." Kiba nodded, grabbing one of my limbs as a needle was pushed underneath my skin and a line attached to it. I was being pumped again. "This'll have you feeling better in no time. Can't have the master's prized pet being sick now can we?"

"No, we can't." Kiba's smile reached his eyes. Kiba never smiled like that. But it had me grinning back at him as felt the cold liquid enter my blood stream. It was the only thing I thought to do.

The cold liquid turned into a slight burn, making me want to scratch my skin. The stronger medication was being injected. The burn turning into an all out fire. Kiba's grip tightened on my arm as my facial expression fell into one of indifference, my eyes taking in the blinding lights from above. It was all the same. Everything.

* * *

I was dressed for war. Ready to rip my creator's enemy's to pieces and kill them in a heartbeat. I looked in front of me, burning eyes taking in nothing yet everything at the same time. Kiba stood to my right, playing with his laces until they were tight enough as he talked to me but I didn't understand its meaning.

"Think you're ready for this, Naruto? Running into old friends and killing them and all that shit? It's going to be great!"  
"Kiba." It was the other 01... no, he was an 02. The pale one with the dark hair. I knew him but didn't, only aware that he was the team leader for almost the same reason I was the weapon - or so I was told. He looked quickly at me, running his eyes over my face until I looked away. He was the leader and he had the power.

"Yeah?"

"Stand next to Naruto, our master is coming down to get a final viewing before we depart. I don't want any set backs."

Kiba rolled his eyes but did as he was told with the 02 standing in front of us. It seemed like we stood like that for minutes before the doors opened and our creator walked in followed by other humans. He talked with the 02, grinning wildly as if everything was about to come true. When his eyes met mine the grin grew. I held all the cards. I would get the job done. He walked over to me, his longer finger weaving through my hair until they reached the numbers imprinted on my skin.

"Good boy." He looked like a proud father who had given birth to everything he wanted. I didn't understand. "I can't wait to see you in action."

"Sir?" Kiba looked as confused as the other humans.

"I'll be coming along." He face the others, his wide grin never leaving his face as his brain was overtaken by bloody thoughts. "I've waited so many years to see them die, and today I don't want to miss a thing!"

His hand was still on my head, touching my blonde locks as he addressed everyone else in the room, giving them orders. It was heavy and stiff... reminding me of the dead body I had caused a couple of days ago. Its crimson pools spilling from its shell. The tasty meat I had sampled from its bones. The beating heart I had swallowed that left liquid metal on my taste buds. Yes, I wanted more of that. More blood, more death. And I didn't care who it was ripped into the next time, they were mine to devour. I grinned, my eyes burning with new life as I caught a glimpse of my reflection walking to the exit. They were as red as the blood I crave.

* * *

TBC...

* * *

**A/N:**I know, it's shorter but its for a good reason - believe me! Also, a lot has actually happened in his chapter and I hope everyone got most of it because if you didn't you'll be lost in the next chapter... (p.s. don't mind the small errors again .)

If you haven't notice I brought back the darker themes into the story and also Naruto has a new way of thinking - being brainwashed and all. I hope you enjoyed it and **REVIEW PLEASE!**

Maybe if I get enough reviewers I'll finish the story faster lol._ No really, this is no joke._ I seem to be with more free time lately because my job is being a pain in the ass and I've given myself some time off (just a day TT~TT) But hey, if I can write this whole chapter out in one night maybe I can do another soon?

Until next time~  
CR


	13. Chapter 13

**Subjects**

CagedRaven

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

It was different then the room I had been training in for as long as I could remember. Everything was alive, connected, shared a heart beat. The soil beneath my feet moved with each of my steps, as if moving me along faster. The trees stood tall, blocking out the sun with their large cluster of leaves. I could sense the small animals hiding from me, trying their best not to move so I wouldn't see them. But the scent of fear was too strong to hide, deep rooted in their bodies and overflowing from their pores. I licked my lips, tasting it as I wet my dry skin.

"Fuck, that hurt!"

I looked over to Kiba, hearing his voice but missing the words. He cupped his chin with one hand, tears clinging to his eyes as the faint scent of blood washed over me, filling my senses with its copper smell.

"Stop talking then, we'll be there in a few days time."

"_Days_?" Kiba shook his head, swallowing down the crimson liquid that brought me to life. "It should only take us one night."

The 02 glanced my way then to the truck behind us, carrying the humans who couldn't run as fast as we could plus our creator. I could almost feel his eyes on me.

"Yes, days."

"Great, they're slowing us down." Kiba mumbled under his breath, smiling cheerfully as if he hadn't said anything when the 02 looked back at him.

They were silent again, the only noise I could hear were the trucks loud engine pulling the device over mounds of dirt and soil. Its wheels uprooting small plants with each of its turns, giving just one more thing a death sentence. Too bad they wouldn't bleed.

Time was moving, leaving us in the dusk with every hour we stopped for the humans. Kiba cursed each and every moment, looking to the 02 for advice but it didn't seem he got the answer he wanted. I looked at the setting sun, ignoring the burn I felt in my legs from the overuse. This was nothing, my arms have felt worse.

"Kiba, go hunt for dinner." The 01 whipped his head to the other, a growl playing in his throat but after a long moment he nodded. I could smell blood again as his teeth met his lip. "Take Naruto with you."

"He'll kill _everything_."

"That's why it's called a hunt." The 02's eyes were on me, looking at my face before watching the humans once more. "You have one hour."

_o0o0o0o0o_

"This is bullshit." Kiba scowled, breaking off a tree's branch one tug, letting it fall to the ground with gravity. "Those humans shouldn't have come, their just slowing us down. This mission could have finished already!"

I stopped trying to make sense of his words,they were fueled with anger and something else that had nothing to do with me. His voice would only be light noise moving with the winds breeze. Nothing mattered to me except wanting to sink my teeth into the large animal before me that was unaware of my presence, even with all the noise he made. My eyes burned as I watched it chew on grass, looking everywhere with quick head movements but where I stood. Kiba was watching another one, not as large but still meaty.

"Ready?"

My eyes never left it, my feet moved an inch closer.

"Naruto?"

It ducked back down, grabbing a fresh mouthful of grass and that's when I dove. My feet hitting the earth silently with great speed pushing me closer and closer with each step. The scent of its fear overwhelming the air as it tried to outrun me once I was spotted but failed. My claws slipped into its flesh like hot metal into butter, ripping skin and sliding over bone as my teeth grabbed its throat. I felt its heart beat, drumming fast on my tongue as it made loud calls as if it was trying to scare me off. I bit harder, breaking important bones as blood poured down my chin and neck, painting my thin clothes with its powerful scent. Its legs stopped kicking, its eyes turned glassy and dull, the heart beat I was licking stopped dead in its tracks. I ran my tongue over my lips, tasting the bitterness I only knew as blood and licked them so more.

"Wow, you made a mess of yourself."

I turned to face the 01, grinning when he shook his head before I peeled back fur and skin, ripping off a piece of the animals meat and placed it on my tongue.

"Don't eat too much of that, we do need you getting sick again."

I loved the warmth of it sliding down my throat, coating my esophagus with its bloody glory and went to take another piece. Kiba's hand, sudden but strong, gripped the back of my neck stopping my actions cold. "I _told_ you to stop."

I growled low, barely hearing it myself, when he shook me. I disliked the power he had over me but stopped altogether when he let go and began to lift my kill's head dragging it with one hand while the other held his own. "Let's get going before _he_ wonders where we are."

I followed him with little choice. A hand ghosting over the back of my neck where his had been, knowing fully that I hated it. With each inch we took back to the others I had to ignore the burning sensation in my eyes just that much more.

* * *

The sun was strong and made my eyes water with its light as we ran at full speed. I could feel the 02 watching me more then yesterday, Kiba following his lead and my creator's smile widened with each step I took. I was excited, smelling many different scents that could only come from a large group of people. They must have smelt it too, it was potent and disgusting - burning my nose and making me sneeze.

"Why are his eyes staying red? It's creeping me out... "

"Leave it alone, we're almost there." The 02 was talking again with Kiba in hushed tones like they didn't want to be overheard, I still couldn't understand them - didn't really want to.

"Did you come up with a plan yet?" Kiba was excited too, I could smell it coming off his body and watched the grin play at the edges of his lips.

"Yes, I have. We are going to split up. Cover more ground. Corner them more easily. And as the mission states, kill them."

"Awesome, so who gets _them_?" He pointed over his shoulder to the humans, still riding around inside the large truck.

The 02 was silent for a moment, lost in thought as he looked from Kiba to me then back to the other 01. "I will, I can't leave our master with an 01."

Kiba grinned more, stretching his cheeks until it seemed they would crack under the strain. I grinned back because it was easier to copy him then think of what to do. When the 02 nodded his head it was an unspoken order that we both followed in a heartbeat, moving out further into the forest in different directions; leaving the team leader behind with the humans.

I was able to move faster, no longer being held back, covering the ground we missed out on the day before. I was taking the animals by surprise, catching them in the act of hiding from me as I moved by them in a blur. The combined scents of humans and mass panic overwhelming the forest gave me a mixed aroma I found either gag inducing or mouthwatering. As I took in my next breath, leaping over a fallen tree, I still couldn't decide.

I slowed down, something - a noise different from the others - stealing my full attention from my fast paced run. I heard it again, rolling my eyes over to its direction. Footsteps. Feather light on top of earth's soil moved its owner closer to me. But it wasn't just a single pair of feet. There were more but I couldn't be sure how many. I sniff the air, sorting through the thick smells of the woods before landing on the one coming closer to me. Wolf. I didn't know how I came to this conclusion, having no memory of it before, but I must have been around one in my short and blurry past.

The earth seemed to freeze my feet to the ground, halting my movements and preventing me from leaving the clearing. I had no idea what I was waiting for - _if_ I was waiting. The wolves were getting closer, their scent blowing into my nose and filling my lungs. They didn't know I was here yet with the wind coming towards me, if they had the wolves would have stayed far away like all the other animals. Fear coating their furs, poisoning their blood and seasoning their flesh. I could almost taste it.

One popped into the open space, freezing when our eyes locked. Liquid gold, close in color to my creator's own, watched my every breath. I could see he would bolt any second, either that or try to bite through my throat, whichever came first. Another pair of eyes watched me on my left, a snarl erupting from my right. A grinned moved my lips up as I flexed my fingers slightly; I could _almost_ taste it!

"No more hunting. You have already eaten." A calm voice filled the air causing the wolves ears to flatten and my hunger to spike. The female sounded so timid, it would be easy to get her to run.

The smile I first saw her with fall, quickly replaced by tears as she took in a large breath of air. The little color in her cheeks paled and her pearl like eyes widened at the sight of me. I watched her every move, taking in the way her chest lifted with each breath and how the small muscles in her arms flexed as her hands covered her mouth. I barely heard it but she had said it, my name. It sounded too familiar on her tongue.

"Is that really... you?" I heard her swallow; the crunch of dead lives under her toes. She walked closer to me, moisture clinging to her eyes as she tried to look at all of me before pulling me into her arms."I can't believe it... Where have you been? Its been a month..."

A wolf snarled again from the side but I ignored it, too busy listening to the female's heart drum in her chest. I could feel it underneath her skin, hammering every few moments as if it was teasing me. Her warmth sunk into the fabric of my clothes quickly, along with the mixed smells she carried around on her flesh. She was an 02, having no scent that truly belonged to herself. The same 02 that I was to eliminate.

I moved fast, pulling an arm back and punching her square in the face before she even knew it. Her scream of pain was music to my ears as I watched her cradle her bleeding nose. A wolf lunged at me, grabbing my wrist with its sharp incisors and ripping my skin to the bone. The strong scent of copper pouring from my wound only pushed me on I thought, taking the wolf's neck with my other hand. The 02's cries of anguish as I twisted the wolf's neck were cancelled out by its bones breaking. We both watched its body still and fall heavily to the ground, its head facing the wrong direction.

I looked at her once more, walking closer and licking my lips when she let a cry run down her cheek, it blending with the blood.

"Leave!" She was still talking, her voice harsh and demanding - nothing like the calm whisper she had come to me with. "Go, _please_!"

More tears escaped her eyes when the remaining wolves turned around and bolted, leaving her in the clearing with me and the dead body of one of her companions. She whispered my name again, shaking her head as more words spilled from between her lips as her eyes watched me through a misty cloud. I moved in front of her, leaning in the dirt so I was face to face with her own. She winced when I grabbed her chin, squeezing her cheeks in between my fingers. I could feel my lips moving into that grin - like the one Kiba wore before we split up. Her eyes widened, her breath shallow and weak. If she could have smelt like it I bet her fear would have been in a league all in its own. The thought alone was mouthwatering. _I was going to taste it..._

_o0o0o0o_

I licked my fingers then my lips, taking in all the blood I could off my own skin. My tongue was heavy, thick with want. I needed more but I _couldn_'t eat it all. I fought with myself trying to see through that ever present thick fog what was best but my urges were stronger. Just another bite - no one would know. But what if they did. I snarled into the air, wishing I would just make up my own mind.

"No fucking way..."

I looked over my shoulder, taking in the faces of the humans who were dumb enough to walk in on me. No they weren't just humans, there was an 02 in the front and an 01 standing off to the side. Green eyes piercing my skin and trying to worm its way into my head.

"It's like before -"

"No, its something else."

They were the others I was supposed to kill, I was sure of it. No other Classes were out on a mission close to this area. It was only Kiba, my team leader, and I. Getting up from ground slowly I left the female 02's side, a sick grin covering my face as I noted she didn't move.

The humans would be their downfall. I could smell everything coming off them, it was intoxicating. I took a deeper breath, trying to pull in everything at once but ended up coughing when something oddly familiar tickled the back of my throat. Another pull of air had me gripping my stomach and biting my lower lip.

My eyes moved widely, looking at all the people in front of me. I knew it wasn't the 02 and knocked him off my list right along side the 01. Both blonde human females were pushed to the side as well when I could see in their eyes the fear I had smelled before. That left the three male humans ranging in ages. But I already knew who this scent belonged to, locking eyes with the source. He had my weakness I had never known about in the palm of his pale hands. He would have to be the first to go.

* * *

TBC...

* * *

Yes, another chapter down (how many more to go?). I know, I know. This one is really short too but seeing as I only had a few hours to myself and I made my readers wait this long I thought this was better than nothing. I hope you enjoyed it~!

Can't wait to get my hands on the next chapter ^^ And as always, sorry for the errors.

CR


	14. Chapter 14

Subjects

_CagedRaven_

* * *

Chapter 14

* * *

The sound of a foot hitting the soft earth invaded my ears, vibrating on my eardrums and echoed in my head. Clenching my jaw tightly I watched the 02 take a step closer to me, followed by another. His dark eyes were looking deep into mine, as if trying to find an answer to some unasked question but I wouldn't have understood it anyway. Action spoke louder than words to me; body language meaning everything. So when I saw his foot reaching to steal another inch I snarled, showing all of my sharp teeth and the tips of my claws digging into my stomach's skin, drawing tiny droplets of blood. I needed to get my body under control, cancel out the strong scent stemming from the pale human and focus on my targets - _kill _them.

I took another breath, shallow, hoping that the human's aroma would not enter my senses a third time. It was still in the air, however, and now that I knew it I wouldn't forget about it. A heavy growl sounded from deep in my chest as my eyes locked with the human again. I saw no fear, just a deep rooted interest in those never ending orbs. I wanted to dig them out with my fingertips and taste his crimson juices.

I ignored the brunette 02 and his watchful eye for the moment, the red headed 01 as well, and moved for the human, aiming for his throat. A female screamed, her voice adding fuel to my own personal fire. That scent became thicker with every step; I felt like I was moving in slow motion but somehow missed the arm that extended when I got too close, aimed for my neck and taking me by surprise. My back hit the ground, meeting a thick tree root painfully on the impact as I gasped for breath, pulling in more of the smell that would have brought me to my knees by itself.

Eying the 02 I wiped at the saliva that had escaped my mouth. That was foolish, getting so lost in the hunt I forgot I would have to fight for my kill. A kill that would not be easy.

I stood slowly, dismissing the ache I felt running up and down my spine. It would dull and vanish before I could give it another thought. My throat was sore, pulling in a lung full of air could lead to me having a coughing attack and becoming a heap in the dirt. Short and shallow intakes of oxygen would have to do for the time being until it healed completely - but this as well would not take that long.

From my peripheral vision I could see the redhead still watching me, his right hand reaching behind his back for something I assumed would be a weapon. Him being an 01 as well would understand the places to strike, spots to bring me down faster and with fewer hits. The 02 would know them too. He was made to lead class 01s, understand their minds and bodies. Taught to take them down if he had to. I growled again, biting my lower lip as one of my hands tugged at the roots of my hair, eyes locking with the pale human again. I wanted him.

"Ah, so you found them. You're fast."

I snapped my head to the intruder, snarling viciously as he came close to what was mine. He threw his hands in a mocking manner which only made me snarl some more. That tickle in my throat irritating but ignorable.

"I only came because I smelt the blood coming from this one," He toed the female lying in the dirt, grinning wildly when she moaned in pain. "A lot of damage but you didn't kill her."

Kiba's eyes dug into me, his grin falling. His lips were moving, the 02 standing in front of the humans said something as well, catching Kiba's attention with a roll of his eyes. It was all a blur to me, noise filling the air and carrying no meaning. I watched the human again when I saw Kiba hadn't moved any closer, swallowing a lump in my dry throat. This was going to be mine, no one would take it away from me.

"You took him back there, didn't you, Kiba?"

"Of course I did. We had a mission to complete, one you _used _to be in charge of but failed to carry out once you came across a bitch in the woods."

The 02 bared his fangs, stepping an inch closer with a fist held to his side. I did the same, claiming what little space I could for the time being.

"_Used _to be?"

"Yeah, we replaced you in a heartbeat. Found someone better suited for the job." Kiba was grinning again, heated rage clearly shining in his eyes and tongue licking his lips before he looked at the humans again. His smile crept away slowly once more as his chest rose, brown eyes locking with my red ones as it fell slowly. "Shit."

He looked unsure, really taking in my form for the first time since we entered the forest. His nostrils flared, chest expanding as he took in one more breath. He must have smelled that same scent I had from the human. Its intoxicating aroma had my mouth drooling for a taste, stomach clutching with some unknown feeling that was new to me - closely resembling excitement. His brows lowered, tension growing on his shoulders. His lips were moving again but I looked away from him to the human whose own mouth had just whispered my name.

"Naruto-" Pure anger bellowed from my chest, vibrating against my vocal cords as I heard Kiba take a step closer to me, calling my name a second later. He was chewing on his bottom lip, watching me carefully. I didn't want him any closer to me - I didn't need him. I was only waiting for the right moment to take the human on, the perfect time when the 02 and 01s would be too lost in their own useless conversations to notice I had made a move.

Kiba's name was called a second later, his attention pulled away from me as well as the others. It was in that moment I moved, racing pass the 02, humans, and aiming for the male whose scent only grow stronger the closer I got. The fingers of my right hand wrapped around his throat but his eyes remained the same, only his lips drew up - like Kiba's - in a wicked smile. I never stopped moving, pushing us farther and farther away from the crowd until we were completely alone.

A gasp of air escaped his lungs when his back met the ground. I grinned, wanting to swallow every noise he made for reasons I couldn't explain. My mouth hovered over his, my fingers digging into the skin of his neck and before I could think about my actions I ran my tongue over his cheek and ended at his brow. He tasted as good as he smelled.

The human pulled at my fingers, his nails slightly breaking my skin but drawing no blood as he tried to catch his breath. A small noise escaped his mouth, a choking whine. His hips bucked into mine, back arching, feet kicking; the need to overthrow me and get the upper hand taking him by force. I silently moaned, watching his face in the throes of anxiety as I worked my hips into his. My body was acting on its own, like it had memories my brain couldn't fathom but I didn't try to fight either.

Somehow my hands loosened to the point that he was able to pull them away from his throat all together, chest raising with each deep breath he took followed by coughing. I didn't notice, too engrossed in the friction I felt on my groin. I breathed heavily into his face, making a fist in the dirt on either side of his head and grabbing unsettled soil, stopping my movements as I felt overwhelmed.

His dark eyes were on me, his breath hitting my cheeks. I heard his throat move, swallowing past the soreness I might have left. My eyes slid over his face, nose taking in his otherworldly scent, until our eyes met. Unlike with my creator I never felt the urge to look away, there was no need to. I felt him shift his legs, heard the soil move underneath us and bit my upper lip roughly when his body moved against mine. Somehow that grin was back like it had never left; his hands on either side of me running up and down my rib cage. I wasn't sure if I should lean into the touch or break his arms off. Before I could give into any action his fingers wove into my thick blonde hair and pulled me down to meet his mouth. His lips moved against my own, his tongue teasing them until I could feel it inside my mouth. My eyes were watching his, fists grabbing at the earth as if it could hold me. He shifted again, rolling me over his hardening groin until I felt something that had me biting him hard enough to to bleed.

I could taste the copper before I even knew what I had done, feel him pull away and suck in air. I moved closer to him, licking the red liquid away, for reasons that had nothing to do with death. I felt so alive in our little clearing under the canopy of trees, maybe even more then hunting.

A sharp intake of air had me shooting up, the scent of blood heavier, thicker, then the little I had pulled from the human's swollen lips. I could hear the hard blows meeting someone's flesh and bones, the cries from each contact made. A battle... perhaps the same exact one as the mission this pale human beneath me had me forget.

Standing slowly I looked down at him one more, taking in his confused expression however missing all the words spilling from his bruised lips. I needed to complete my mission, it was the task I was made for, something my creator though only I could achieve. The thoughts felt foreign but it didn't stop me from turning away from the human and running back to the clearing with the other humans that were really my targets.

* * *

The sight of Kiba being beaten by the red headed 01 had my brain in a haze. I felt my lips twitch in what I could only guess might have been a grin. The older female was standing next to the 02 I had fought with earlier and the others were watching me.

"Hinata lost a lot of blood but she is alive."

The male 02 nodded, letting a breath out as the news sunk in. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, the female would have been dead if they hadn't arrived so suddenly. I was too busy tasting her thick crimson blood to give her a killing blow.

I heard footsteps behind me but never faced it. I knew it belonged to the pale human I had just left; his scent was so deeply engraved into me I thought it was a memory.

The steady voice of the 02 had me shooting my eyes over to him; his voice filling my ears without any meaning. His body faced mine, his eyes watching my every move and his hands hanging loosely by his side. He wanted to seemed relaxed and at first I almost mirrored him but there was no need. I was here to kill them all - but what had me pausing?

"I don't think he can understand us fully." The human behind me spoke as well, but it was directed at the 02. His body not close enough to mine.

"You would be right," All of our heads moved to the new voice entering the clearing. I could tell right away that it was my team leader. He walked closer at sure pace, the trunk carrying the humans not too far behind him. I could sense the air had just gotten thicker; the human standing behind me was barely breathing and a couple of times the older male humans would glance his way. The 02 continued to walk until he stood right in front of me, ignoring Kiba who had finally punched the 01 and stood on his feet. "Sasuke."

The human took in a breath, his voice laced with shocked. "I thought you were dead."

"What made you think that?" All I could see was my team leader's lips move into a slight smile, not wanting to take my eyes any higher.

Something new was mixing with the human's scent, causing it to thicken, darken, become fresh and new. I liked it even more. I looked over my shoulder, taking in his fierce eyes and set mouth. The same mouth I had bitten and caused to bleed. A mouth that was fully healed. "...Itachi..."

* * *

TBC...

* * *

Chapter 14, I'd have to say, isn't one of my best chapters... I wasn't too thrilled with it. As if no one has noticed, I'm losing my muse for this story TT^TT but I _am _going to finish it, it just might take me a little longer. Leave a review and tell me what you think.


	15. Chapter 15

**Subjects**

_CagedRaven_

* * *

Chapter 15

* * *

I licked my lips, still able to taste the blood I had drawn from the human on them. It was drying, losing its potency with every passing second and flaking to the ground. But it was there. With every small bit I swallowed it called out to me for another bite.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Like a cold bucket of water dropping over my head his voice filled my brain. My creator was here, exiting the truck he rode in with the other humans and making his long awaited entrance. I felt nervous, the 02 standing so close to me and my creator closing in. A light breeze pulled his scent to my senses and I caught it, that bitter scent that could only belong to one thing.

"Orochimaru, you bastard, I knew it could only be you behind this."

"Ah, Tsunade, I'm surprised you're still alive." He drawled, looking over to me. My eyes hit the ground looking at the 02's feet as they shifted slightly in the soil. He was angry, I could smell it in the air and feel his heated emotion weight me down. "Itachi."

A sharp whine ripped out of me as my team leader's firm grasp took hold of my neck; I couldn't move my head, my claws digging into the back of his hands and drawing blood as he dragged me away from the pale human.

"Let go of him, Itachi!"

"Sasuke," My creator grinned, pulling the top of the injection off with his teeth. "It's been awhile."

The human glared, his fist pulling tightly against his bones, as the older human behind him spoke calming words. "Relax Sasuke, think before you act."

"You're going to risk running more of that through his system?" The brunette 02 was talking to my creator, his eyes heated and body language hard to read although it might have been due to the fact had I couldn't move. "Anymore and he won't be able to tell the difference-"

I felt my team leader's free hand move my shirt and then the stab, the needle sinking under my skin and deep into my muscle, almost touching bone. Burning followed right after, running down my neck, mimicking the grooves of my spine only to run back up. My throat ached, I had no idea if I was screaming, as my eyes stared up into the tree tops. This felt different, stronger. The Obedience I was used to hurt but nothing compared to this.

I felt heavy, sunk to my knees when the 02 released me, my hands doing a poor job of catching me before my face met the ground. I was coughing, bile playing on my tongue with each gasp of breath I took. I tried swallowing it down but it only came back up, a fire eating away at my esophagus and nose. It felt like I was throwing up all my insides.

"You gave it to him pure? Are you insane?" Voices bounced off my eardrums, sick laughter like nails on a chalkboard. I pulled at the material covering my abdomen, the pain eating me alive.

"Get up." A swift kick from the 02 to my stomach had me coughing harder, moisture clinging to my eyes for unknown reasons. I growled when his foot met my side again, grabbing it in a tight hold and threatened to break it. A reminder that our spots could be switched in a heartbeat. He took a step back but still loomed over me, his presence willing me to bow but I ignored the urge to listen and pushed myself to my feet. "Finish the mission assigned to you."

My top lip pulled up at the order as my eyes locked with his. I wanted to rip those dark eyes out of his head and crush them underneath my shoes. Swallow down the vital fluid running through his veins and-

I paused, eyes widening as I realized I was looking in the other's eyes and felt nothing. I was able to stand my ground with no desire to look away. This newfound power washed through me and filled me to the brim dulling the pain; when he took a step forward and grabbed my arm tightly I knew he saw it in my eyes. "Do not make me repeat myself."

I understood him perfectly, his words nothing more than a challenge ringing in my ears and waiting for my answering call. I ripped my arm from his hold, daring him to do something about it when my creator's laugh filled the empty space around us.

"A slave to his own urges," his cackling could have made my ears bleed. "For now." His large pale hand reached into his pants pocket pulling out a small device I knew all too well. His smile spread into a sick grin as his golden eyes locked with the woman still kneeling next to the the 02 I had hurt... Her name ghosting over my tongue only to vanish before I could gasp it.

As the female's voice filled my mind through the little recorder, her name pressing some hidden button inside me, I bit harshly onto my bottom lip drawing blood in a flash that quickly coated my tastebuds. I couldn't think about it, however, my brain was overloaded. Thoughts that seemed so foreign trying to drown me underneath their hold. I fisted my hair, pulling at the roots, as my eyes snapped shut and I bent over at my waist.

My eyes burned as my mind fogged over, the blonde female never leaving my sights. I sunk my sharp teeth deeper into my flesh, ignoring the liquid metal seeping from my abused lip and only wanted to taste hers.  
"The trigger... its my name?" She was facing the other 02 but he didn't look away from me.

"He never told you?" My creator laughed, "Shikamaru has known all along. It's the same for you, Jiraya."

* * *

TBC

* * *

**A/N:** Everyone give thanks to Emilie Autumn lol. Her song, "Liar", was definitely my muse for this short chapter (the machine mix by Dope Stars inc.). I also want to thank all the readers who reviewed and gave me the spark I needed to keep writing ^-^ I'm getting closer to where I wish to be with this story (yippy~) and can't wait to see the end results. Also, this is _really_ short and sad; sorry! However I was stuck and need to switch scenes somehow. Hopefully next chapter will be better.

CR

_P.S_. I have been busy with my blogs lately which is why it took me forever to post this chapter up, sorry again... They both can be found on my profile page but I'll leave the links here if you want to check them out :3

**Manga bliss list~**

Mangablisslist . blogspot. com

**Hermit Crab Diaries* **

****HermieDiaries . blogspot . com


	16. Chapter 16

**Subjects**

_CagedRaven_

* * *

Chapter 16

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I felt the acid running through my veins, burning my muscles and eating away at my thoughts. The world around me was spinning, taking my head for a joyride while my feet held fast to the ground. The urge to vomit pulled at my throat, the nasty taste of my last meal mixed with bile coated my tongue heavily. I swallowed it down, fighting my need to spit it out but it wasn't really a fight at all. My brain was taking me elsewhere, my nose its driver. I could smell it in the oxygen I breathed. Fear. Most of it stemming from the female human sitting on the ground next to an 02.

But it wasn't just fear, I caught hatred as well mixed into it leaving my mouth dripping with saliva. Her brown eyes looked into mine and locked as she moved an inch back towards the group she had arrived with, holding her breath. My shoulders tensed, right foot sliding forward with my left following soon after. She stole another step and I moved, the wind I created with my speed blowing the hair out of my eyes that were burning for blood.

"Gaara!" No sooner than the 02 had spoken was the redhead 01 standing before me, his fist pulled back and meeting my temple with harsh impact. I could almost feel my skull splitting as I was sent back a couple of steps. Pushing the pain as far as I could get it in a split second I let loose a growl that came deep from my throat, vibrating against my vocal cords as my burning gaze took in every move he made. I bared my fangs, snarling as he flexed his hands, pulling them so tightly into themselves they turned white as he readied himself. I licked the blood spilling down my face in an afterthought and kicked off the ground, propelling myself towards my new victim.

Our vicious snarls and growls bounced off the trees, filling the clearing with the noise of our fight but we weren't the only ones fighting. The pale human was fighting as well, swinging at the 02 I had come with. Blood soaked the air as claws tore flesh and fueled my hungry inch by painful inch. I could feel my eyes burning as if they were on fire, scorching their way out of my head and cracking my skull into tiny pieces as I suddenly felt more alive than I could ever remember. One look into the redhead's eyes and I knew I wasn't the only one but with that look our attacks became stronger, angrier, deadlier. It was a fight for dominance as much as death, something I had known from the beginning but he just seemed to notice.

I bit my cheek hard, swallowing down my scream and the blood that flowed onto my tongue as he twisted his sharp claws into my stomach, catching me off guard while I was thinking nonsense. He removed his hand fast, my life essence dripping heavily to the soft soil beneath my feet, and a sharp whine escaped my lips no matter how hard I tried to lock it inside my throat. I touched it, coating my fingers in the liquid warmth before bringing it up to eyes. Fuck, it was a deep wound to one of my "_soft spots". _A deadly shrike if I didn't keep an eye on it and take it slow.

I heard laughter on the other side and faced it meeting the eyes of my creator. His burning gaze working its way under my skin and willing me to do something he considered amazing. I wanted to kill _him_. I paused, my eyes locking with his as I watched him as I had the redhead before. The 01 was ignored now, I was too lost in the idea of an easy prey standing only a couple of feet away from me. Weak humans standing beside him for _safety_.

I lunged, moving fast enough to sidestep the 01's strike and make one of my own to the golden eyed human. I heard voices scream but I didn't stop long enough to comprehend them, too enthralled with this human's death by my hands. I was a few steps away, loving the way the mixed scents of almost every emotion surrounded the humans trying to protect my creator, when he pulled out a gun of his own and shot me with a grin.

The bullet drilled into my flesh and met my collar bone, causing enough pain for me to stumble and fall on my ass. I grabbed at my bleeding body, both shoulder and stomach, and wondered if that was the reason why my vision had begun to blur at the edges.

I heard footsteps coming up to my right, the heavy footfalls told me right away they belong to Kiba. He stopped next to me, standing above me like I was finally in my place. I wanted to break his ankles and have him falling to his knees. "You really have lost it, huh? Trying to attack our creator? Even _you _should know he can kill us."

I growled, daring my creator to shoot again with my eyes as they burned one hundred percent again. Kiba's hand cupped my bleeding shoulder, trying to pull me back to focus of the mission - to kill the female that had wronged our master - but I wanted to kill _him _and the 01 was standing in my way.

A loud scream bellowed from Kiba's mouth, calling the attention of the others, as my fist tightened around his shin and snapped his bones with little effort. He came crashing to earth face first, his face contorted in pain and his hands reaching for his leg. Without another thought I moved, my razor sharp claws digging into his clothes and skin as my jaw opened wide before lowering into his neck in a killing blow. He tried to fight it, his own claws making cuts down my face, but with a second snap of my mouth his body grew heavy and his heartbeat slowed until it stopped completely. I licked my lips, tasting his blood for the first time as my eyes zeroed in on the female human whose eyes were wide in what could only be fear. With a deep breath pulled through my nose I quickly knew it was in fact fear. I grinned, moving my eyes back to the redhead who now had a short knife out and ready to fight me with before looking over to my creator once again. I noted his grin was still in place, if anything it grew the colder Kiba's body became.

Suddenly my view was blocked by a human's back... the pale one that smelled intoxicating. His clothes were torn and coated in blood. showing off the battle wounds he had received from the 02 however there were no wounds at all. Only the lingering scent of sweet crimson upon his body. The urge to lick it off his milky skin began to eat me alive and before I knew it my arms were around his body and my tongue flesh against his neck, the drumming of his heart calling out to me as it hit my lips.

"Go ahead, take some. It will clear your mind." I looked up staring at his profile as my teeth scraped across his skin, pulling at his flesh in a teasing manner as my red eyes grew heated with hunger and want. My claws dragged across his chest destroying the remains of his shirt as I pulled him closer to my body.

"Sasuke!" I growled, holding him tighter when the female human screamed his name. He was _mine_.

"This is why you made me, Tsunade, to heal. Let me do my job." His voice vibrated against my body and I pulled my teeth once more across his flesh. "Drink it, Naruto!"

"You think that will work - do you _really_?" My creator laughed wickedly, pointing the gun at us as if it were his index finger. "He'll just kill you, drink you dry in the slowest death possible! He might even eat the rest of you, leaving only the _bones _behind! You saw how he killed his team member with little thought, that will be you next on the ground screaming in pain until your last breath-"

"You don't know anything, asshole! Do it, Naruto!" The once worried human now seemed eager to prove my creator wrong, pure anger radiating off her body in a strong cloud with hints of uncertainty as our eyes met. I felt my arms leaving the human beside me and my feet slowly taking me to my original target until I was swung around and the pale human's mouth crashed onto mine. Warm blood seeped in between my lips and rolled down my chin, testing my senses as its thick flavor barely coated my teeth. The scent of his blood filled my nostrils in seconds and when he pulled me tightly against his own body I grunted from the pain coming from my collar bone and stomach.

His bleeding tongue filled my mouth and I locked on, pulling it deeper and drawing more of his crimson juices onto my waiting pellet. It was so sweet, breathtaking, I couldn't get enough. I slid my teeth across it, moved my head to the left and sighed when his tongue graze the roof of my mouth. Heat began overtaking my body and brain, suddenly my legs couldn't hold my weight any longer and gravity had me falling to me knees. We never spilt, if anything it only made the pull between us stronger. I could feel the raised skin on my cheeks from my brief fight with Kiba earlier lessen their painful tugs against his flesh until it stopped all together, my stomach wounds stopped sapping my strength and my collar bone stopped stealing my breath. He pulled away gently, our mixed saliva clinging to the remnants of whatever just happened before letting go. I swallowed, drinking the last of his blood down before I took another breath only to realize his self inflicted wound had closed long ago.

He straightened up, a cocky smirk pulling at his lips as he looked at the female human farther away. "Still alive."

"Oh, shut up." She glared but I could tell she was happy.

"Some show." My creator grinned, his gun had lowered but the humans around him all had there's pointed at the human standing in front of me. I growled, a hand gripping my hair and pulling painfully as images flashed before my eyes. I could only guess they were memories my brain was trying to remember...

_"Hang on." It was a new voice, one that sounded bored and thick with annoyance as he spoke. The male human entered my view at his own pace, looking me over a couple of times before he talked again. My eyes did the same, looking from his black hair to his sneaker covered feet. His pale skin stood out too much with all his dark clothing and his dark eyes that also looked black were piercing and annoying to say the least. "Are you at least going to give me your name since you halfway killed one of my friends?"_

_"Why don't you give yours first?"_

_"Uchiha Sasuke," Two names again, I glared more at him._

_"Naruto," _

_"I have a feeling we're going to be running into each other a lot."_

_"Spare me." _

_OoOo  
_

_"I knew we would run into each other…"_

_"What gave it away?" I asked but didn't really care._

_"You're wearing a pair of my jeans."_

_OoOo  
_

_"Go home, Sakura."_

_"What the hell was that?"_

_"Do you want me to show you?" He's eyes got darker, confidence seemed to go through the roof, and something in his scent changed that almost made me curious. But I was cautious. He was moving closer to me in a way that resembled my actions earlier with the rabbits. Like I was prey that had fallen right into a trap he had set from the very beginning._

_He mumbled for me to close my eyes before he pressed his lips against mine..._

_OoOo  
_

_He made his way over to me, paying attention to my face, which I was sure was twisted into something._

_Uchiha Sasuke was too close; I could feel his body heat..._

_His dark eyes were still focused on me, but the air in the room told me he was hesitating – for what, I really didn't care. I glanced over my shoulder, catching his eyes move up my body until they met my blue ones. Something filled them that was not hesitation. It was like liquid heat, reminding me of the kiss we had shared that night in the living room. I could feel my body slowly react to it… waiting._

_OoOo  
_

_"This seems familiar." He muttered, letting his bag fall to the floor before as he moved closer to me._

_"Are you going to kiss me again?"_

_His mouth pressed against mine swiftly, taking advantage of my words and filled my mouth with his tongue. I closed my blue eyes as my teeth grazed it but I stopped myself from making him bleed – barely, and moaned. He swallowed it, pushing forward and forcing me to tilt back so he could have better access to my mouth. Before I knew it my back was touching the surface of the sofa and he was over me, his weight on his forearms so not to crush me. He didn't know it wouldn't. He pulled away, worrying my bottom lip in between his teeth as I caught my breath and tried to steady my frantic heart. It was a losing battle. I looked up at him as my lip was freed, licking the spot as I wondered what happened next. _

_"If you think that was good, wait till I get all your clothes off."_

_OoOo  
_

_"What happened?" I shrugged, really not knowing myself. He didn't seem to like it. "Did he try to kill you?"_

_I rolled my eyes thinking of the knife, "If he was trying to kill me Gaara wouldn't have missed."_

_"What's that supposed to mean." His brows wrinkled, his hand eased its way down my back to where the knife was embedded in my flesh and bone._

_"What it sounds like - Don't touch it!" I hissed, digging my claws into what I guessed was the floor tile. I bit my lower lip, drawing blood as I breathed through my nose roughly. It hurt like a bitch!_

_"I didn't." He was thinking fast, I could see his eyes zoning out as ideas moved in his brain a mile a minute. "I'll call Tsunade."_

_I growled, grabbing my head as a pounding headache tried to win the battle. "Don't call that witch, I don't need her."_

_"She's a doctor-"_

_"I don't care!" _

_OoOo  
_

_"What's the big deal anyway, all it's good for is offspring."_

_"Sex is more than that and I don't want kids."_

_"Then what do you want?"_

_OoOo  
_

_"Relax, don't think about it." He mumbled into my ear, grinding his hips into mine and dragging a groan out of my throat. "Just feel it."_

_"Wait-" My hand moved to his shoulder on another groan. I couldn't remember what I was trying to say..._

_His mouth was on my cheek, breathing me in as our hips rocked together, faster and harder. Something was building up inside of me, something new. I was almost there, wherever this craziness was leading me..._

_Suddenly I felt the hot skin of his hand on my abdomen and my eyes flew open to look up at him._

_"I'm not going to do anything you won't like." He breathed, his forehead touching mine as his hand moved down to my pants. I was still stiff, unsure. He kissed me again, "Relax, don't think just feel it."_

_I forced my eyes to close, feeling his fingers moving through my coarse strands of hair, going further down, deeper until he touched what was giving me hell. My eyes opened quickly, my head flying back giving Sasuke all of my neck as a noise pulled free from me. I might later remember it and hate myself for the rest of my life._

_"Fuck!" I gritted out, my claws digging into the ground when his hand surrounded me fully. He grinned, pulling up on my heated flesh slowly dragging another groan from me. He kept doing that for a while, had me panting and cursing away, until he groaned himself and pulled away._

_I saw him unbuckle his pants; his eyes, matching the darkness that was around us, were on me - full of heat and something else I wasn't in the mood to figure out. All I knew was I was at my breaking point. Whatever the hell had built up inside me was getting ready to burst, it was almost there, I wanted it to overflow and Sasuke was the one that was going to make it happen. Soon._

_He pulled my pants down slightly, showing off more of my skin, before doing the same to his own. I felt my heart beating roughly in a strange mixture of emotions. I swallowed, taking another dry breath before thinking of something to say. "What happens next?"_

_"Something amazing."_

My eyes moved away from him, not ready to understand the feelings behind those thoughts. I looked to the female human only because she was the closest... the 02 laying next to her on the floor who still had yet to move. My stomach fell, a darkness eating my insides up and grabbing at my heart. I did that... I did that to _her... _

"Hinata...?"

* * *

TBC...

* * *

One more chapter down :3

Sorry about the long "flashback" of sorts. I was trying really hard not to put one of those into this chapter but it had to be done - I hate them so much...

Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will get started on the next~

CR


	17. Chapter 17

**Subjects**

_CagedRaven_

* * *

Chapter 17

* * *

My eyes moved away from the pale human, not ready to understand the feelings behind those thoughts... memories. They were foggy and whispered untold feelings I would rather ignore. I looked to the big chested female only because she was the closest... the 02 lying next to her on the ground who still had yet to move. My stomach fell, a darkness eating my insides up and grabbing at my heart only to pull it out. I did that... I did that to _her..._

"Hinata...?"

My fist pulled at my hair painfully, a splitting ache racing through my head briefly before ebbing away only to pass through again. A snarl vibrated through my chest as I doubled over, my eyes meeting my creator holding the recorder.

"I see," My creator spoke, his voice laced with heavy anger. He tossed the recorder onto the earth's soil, crushing it to pieces underneath his foot as it proved useless. At least he gave me one last thing to do before I killed him. "Your prized pet project finally works, Tsunade."

"My_ pet _has worked for many years now; you just weren't around to notice." She glared, standing to her feet. "Sasuke was a great investment that proved worth the effort."

Rolling my eyes over to the pale human kneeling beside me I watched him from the corner of my eyes. He was like us then, a man made monster. The only difference was he had mouthwatering blood flowing through his veins. He caught my full attention as his hand moved closer to my face, pushing the hair strands out of my eyes and offered me a small smile but I looked away. I wasn't ready for him. I wasn't ready for anyone.

"Naruto." I looked to Shikamaru; he must have seen something in my eyes he recognized before he faced the blonde female still sneering at my creator. I could all but hear the wheels moving in his head as the 02 put some things together. "Explain what just happened."

Her brown eyes rolled, "I'll tell you _after _we get this asshole."

I stood up on my own, Sasuke standing to his full height beside me. I could feel his eyes on me, digging under my skin as it looked for something I didn't think he'd be able to find. I whipped him from my thoughts, giving the 02 before us my full attention. Now that I thought about it he looked a hell of a lot like Sasuke. Their pale skin was almost the same in complexion although the man before us looked slightly darker.

I felt a hand gently press on my back and cursed at myself when I leaned into the touch, "Leave Itachi to me." I lifted a brow, noticing how he said the name as if he had known the 02 in front of us for a while.

"Sasuke-"

"Tsunade, relax. It'll take a _lot _to kill me." He sounded so sure of himself I had to roll my eyes. His hand moved, leaving behind an empty spot I bit the inside of my cheek to ignore, as he walked farther to the left before he raced forward and throw the first punch. I wanted to watch him fight, watch his body move as if it thrived for these few moments but because these thoughts completely consumed me I peeled my eyes away looking to the redhead who was walking my way.

I took in his wounds, now fully healed and only dried blood remained on his skin proving they had once been there. That was all me too... I couldn't really tell if I was happy or not.

I looked up, ready to say something stupid when his fist connected with the side of my head again, forcing me to turn with the blow.

"Don't-" Shikamaru held out his hand, stopping the flower scented female he irresponsibly allowed to follow from finishing her sentence. Gaara had all right to hit me but fuck it if I wasn't going to hit the bastard back. I pulled my hand tight, claws digging into the softness of my palm as I met his jaw with a solid hit.

Grinning I watched as he righted himself, rubbing the bruise surely healing already just as mine was. "We can finish this later."

He nodded, kicking off the ground and aiming for the humans standing between us and our creator. I wasn't that far behind, taking in the fear I saw in their eyes as they aimed their guns. Shots fired, one grazing my shoulder as I sidestepped a bullet targeting my heart. Blood filled my nose and I knew it was Sasuke's but I didn't look back, so close to tearing out the man's jugular before me. As if in slow motion he took a step back, anxiety contorting his face behind his mask as I saw my reflection in it. Red eyes glared back at me, sharp fangs covered in saliva, and razor like claws aiming for his face as he was too slow to pull the trigger.

Blood poured from him where my nails dug under his flesh, drowning cries calling for attention until he couldn't breathe and collapsed to the earth's soil after I was onto the next one. So lost in the gore I didn't know I was almost shot until the gun went off, Shikamaru twisting the human's arm and breaking it in pieces, the bullet drilled right between his eyes. I grinned as Shikamaru shook his head at me.

"Pay attention, dumbass."

Gaara threw a human's head into another, his face painted with crimson I wanted so badly too taste. I had to fight it, smelling Sasuke's blood in the air though only made my thirst for it stronger. I licked my lips, noticing our creator had taken up a gun again, pointing it at the redhead as he drew closer. I didn't see fear in him, if anything I saw certainty.

Gaara had killed the last human standing in his way, his claws pointed straight out like a dagger towards our creator's throat. I was grinning, waiting for killing blow, the screams, the blood but nothing happened.

"Fuck." I looked to Shikamaru who ran to Gaara. I could hear Ino further back, her mumbles about the fight, us killing people so easily, it being sick. I tuned her out.

Gaara struggled, his whole body making little jerks as if he was fighting something we couldn't see. "You really thought I would be so stupid to allow one of my own subjects to kill me?"

The gun fired, only inches from Gaara nose however grazed Shikamaru's skull as he knocked the redhead out of the way. I heard the blonde scream behind me as if she were the one who was shot when Shikamaru hit the ground. My eyes took in the crimson staining the soil around his head. Another couple shots sounded as he aimed at Gaara, the redhead let out a sharp sound I never heard him make before.

"And don't think I haven't noticed you." His mouth curved into that sick grin, moving his hand holding the gun toward Shikamaru's female as he shook his head. "Pregnant and by, no doubt, this betraying mutt. I can't have children of my experiments running around, now can I?"

"Ino!" Tsunade yelled, moving toward the blonde as if she would be able to stop the bullet he had just fired. I couldn't move my feet, still trying to swallow the fact that Shikamaru had yet to move and Gaara.

Suddenly a pale hand reached out and grabbed the bullet, the smell of burning flesh and blood coating the air in an instant. Sasuke's blood.

"Well, at least your _pet _protects you." Orochimaru grinned, not giving one look to the dead 02 laying only a few feet away. Itachi's head turned completely the wrong way.

"Do it, Naruto!" As if my feet needed the pale human's voice to push them along they started to listen to my brain, bringing me closer and closer to my creator. His twisted face looking my way as his gun reloaded with its next shot and his golden eyes aimed for my head. As it fired into the air I ducked under it, knees sliding in the dirt until I was able to kick his feet out from under him. I grabbed his ankle, snapping it with little thought and drowned in the cries of pain I've waited too long to hear. I pulled him closer, drinking down the alarm filling him from the inside out. He tried to kick me off but I dug into his flesh with my claws, climbing on top and ignoring the two bullets piercing my stomach in his last attempt to kill me before I did him.

With one hand I tore into his face, targeting those eyes that were always watching me. My other hand struggled passed his clothes, skin, and muscle, digging for organs. His pain filled screams overtook the clearing as I ripped more skin and slid my claws over bones that may have been important. I took in a deep breath, wrapping my fingers around what I was searching for while moving and pulling out the unnecessary. What was left of his blood coated face pulled tightly, one good eye watching me as if I was unbelievable - everything he wanted me to be. I snarled, letting my breath dance across cheeks. I would always hate him and I could never kill him enough times.

I squeezed his heart, watching his face lose control of itself as pain over threw everything he had every known in his life. Squeezed until blood dribbled out of the corner of his lips, until his heart was nothing but crap in my hands and I tossed it on the ground having pulled it completely free. I had watched the light leave his eye but he was still watching me so I kicked his face in, breaking his teeth and skull under my foot before I was pulled away from the body by Sasuke's arms.

As much as I wanted to lean into his touch, run my tongue over his blood kissed skin, and tell him to finish were we left off all that time ago I couldn't. Not with Hinata lifelessly laying on the ground, Gaara bleeding out, and Shikamaru possibly dead. I still wasn't ready...

* * *

I sat on the roof, taking in the noise I heard from the inside of the house as everyone moved around. Life just seemed to level out, it didn't seem to matter to the others that I was still unsure around them. If anything, they wanted me to feel welcomed... well, most of them excluding a chair hopping redhead. Karma is a bitch.

"I was looking for you."

I looked up to Shikamaru, noticing the gun shot was completely healed again for the hundredth time. Sasuke's blood really was a miracle worker, without it the 02 would have been dead.

"I just wanted to be alone." I sighed, resting my head on my folded arms and blocking out the setting sunlight.

"She knows it wasn't really you." I pulled myself tighter, knowing he was talking about Hinata. "It still hurts, but she knows _you _didn't do it."

Trust Shikamaru to know why I was out of the house to begin with. I peeked over my forearm into his brown eyes only to move them down to his chin before I closed them completely. I heard him sigh as he sat next to me, understanding I had given him full submission in my own way as if I had given up. He pulled me into a halfhearted hug, letting me rest most of my weight on his shoulder as he looked up into the sky. I took comfort in this as it almost reminded me of when Hinata pulled me close to herself. She, however, didn't smell like flowers and a certain blonde female.

Guilt ate me alive again, "How's Ino?"

He shrugged, never breaking eye contact with the clouds. "She hasn't left the room since the miscarriage."

I bit my lower lip, "Sorry."

"It had nothing to do with you." He looked at me as he shook his head. "I had a feeling she wouldn't be able to carry them. I told her this but she didn't want the abortion Tsunade suggested."

"Still," I mumbled, "She looked like she really wanted them."

"It'll pass."

I nodded, not really knowing what else to do. I felt his eyes leave me, facing the other pair of steps I heard coming a mile away. I closed my eyes tighter, feeling Shikamaru leave my side as he told me not to stay out too long. I nodded into my arms, still not facing the two males as they no doubt talked silently about me as if I wasn't there. I heard the 02 leave and the awkwardness fell around us. After a moment or so he sat beside me and took up Shikamaru's sit, pulling me into his body heat to which I melted right away.

"I'm still not ready." I said before I could stop myself.

"I'll wait."

Those two words made me want him right then and there. I bit my lip and grinned hidden underneath my arms.

* * *

The End

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, I finished Subjects... \ ( ^,^)/ Hooray~! ::Gasp!:: Oh My God there was no yaoi! Why Raven? Why? ( TT3TT) Because, silly, there's a part two! Get ready readers for the next chapter of Naruto's crazy life: _Subject: Unknown__  
_  
-And yeah, I know the ending's a little cheesy but I thought it was cute lol, whatever.

_P.S._

_I heard Fanfiction was "cleaning" its site, removing some stories or something along those lines. To be safe I have kept all my files up until now and will keep you posted incase this happens to me because none of my stories are for children to say the least :P. If any of my stories are removed I will put them on my account that has the same name(CagedRaven) or make a blog that is just for my stories linked to my Manga bliss blog._

**__****Don't forget to review ( ^3^)**  


_CR**  
**_


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